Ferris Bueller's Day Off at Wrigley Field

February 8, 2011 11:49 AM

The Baseball Prospectus' Wezen-Ball blog solves a riddle in Ferris Bueller's Day Off at Wrigley Field, explaining exactly which Cubs game Ferris and his friends attended during that fateful day off.
posted by gemmy (41 comments total)

So we can add the Cubs' lousy playing to the list of felonies committed that day.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:52 AM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nowadays they would just CGI that stuff.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:01 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Seems to put the "Is the Ferris Bueller timeline possible?" question to rest. The Sears Tower and art museum visits occur before lunch, though, if I remember correctly. Even so, less than two hours for the parade and swimming at Sloane's seems a stretch.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:03 PM on February 8, 2011

What's the score?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:05 PM on February 8, 2011

TheWhiteSkull: "What's the score?"

RTFA. It's tied 2-2 in the top of the 11th.
posted by Plutor at 12:11 PM on February 8, 2011

Hey, batter, batter--swing, batter!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:12 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

But the ballgame wasn't attended by anybody because everything in the movie was a figment of Cameron's imagination, right?
posted by blucevalo at 12:14 PM on February 8, 2011 [4 favorites]

Who's winning?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:14 PM on February 8, 2011

Who's winning?
posted by chaff at 12:14 PM on February 8, 2011

aaargh
posted by chaff at 12:14 PM on February 8, 2011

The Bears.
posted by grubi at 12:15 PM on February 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Sears Tower and art museum visits occur before lunch, though, if I remember correctly. Even so, less than two hours for the parade and swimming at Sloane's seems a stretch.

What? In a movie?

I feel betrayed.
posted by grubi at 12:15 PM on February 8, 2011

"Seems to put the 'Is the Ferris Bueller timeline possible?' question to rest."

Considering this game was played in June and Von Steuben parade happens in September, and Ferris, et al live in a Chicago suburb called Shermer, which does not actually exist, and no one apparently ever gave Ferris shit for having a name like "Ferris," I think it's probably simpler to accept that the Ferris Bueller timeline is only possible in an alternate universe similar to yet different than our own. And in that universe? Yes, that timeline is possible.
posted by jscalzi at 12:19 PM on February 8, 2011 [12 favorites]

Seems to put the "Is the Ferris Bueller timeline possible?" question to rest.

Eh, not so fast. The article establishes that the ballgame scenes from the movie were filmed at the real-world June 5, 1985 Cubs game. I don't think that is sufficient reason to believe that the game Ferris & co. were at in-universe was taking place on June 5, 1985 (would school even still be in session then?), nor that the foul ball Ferris caught was hit in the 11th inning.

Also, you have to conclude that the pizza-maker is either mistaken or lying about the score if you insist the game in FBDO has to be the same as the real-world game. That's not hard evidence, of course, but it is suggestive.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:20 PM on February 8, 2011

Finally! Now maybe I can get some rest.
posted by crunchland at 12:37 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Next week in the Baseball Prospectus, we delve into who turned off the Jumbotron in Field of Dreams, try to recall the name of that Jimmy Fallon movie filmed during the Red Sox' World Series win (They were actually there! Can you believe it!?) and box score the climactic game portrayed in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan until our heads asplode and beans pour forth onto nearby plates.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 12:38 PM on February 8, 2011

what station did The Truman Show play on????
posted by boo_radley at 12:40 PM on February 8, 2011

DevilsAdvocate, I would like to know the URL of the Ferris Bueller Wiki that you are clearly an administrator of, and also whether your administrators consider the TV series to be canonical. ;)
posted by AugieAugustus at 12:49 PM on February 8, 2011

Is this the same universe where you can get up to the Empire State observation platform right before it closes and there's no line of people trying to get up there?
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:59 PM on February 8, 2011

You're still here? It's over. Go home.... Go.
posted by Babblesort at 1:00 PM on February 8, 2011 [6 favorites]

mmmmmmm....beans.....
posted by Billiken at 1:09 PM on February 8, 2011

I realize it's articles like this that make people roll their eyes about baseball fans, but it's articles like this that make me love baseball. Every detail.. so unnecessary... Love it.
posted by dogbusonline at 1:22 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

and no one apparently ever gave Ferris shit for having a name like "Ferris,"

It makes more sense when you assume his middle name is "Wheel".
posted by inigo2 at 1:24 PM on February 8, 2011

Now here's baseball analysis: http://www.ussmariner.com/2006/03/12/bugs-bunny-greatest-banned-player-ever/
posted by AJaffe at 1:26 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

no one apparently ever gave Ferris shit for having a name like "Ferris," --- What, that it's so close to being perfect?
posted by crunchland at 1:29 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm getting very concerned.

Ferris Bueller fans will be "clamoring" all over themselves? What happened to clambering? Is this where we are now? The author should of* had a better sub editor, I'm thinking. You don't clamor over anything. Everyone know this.

*I've been seeing this a lot lately - so much so I think it's becoming a phenom.
posted by Sk4n at 1:30 PM on February 8, 2011

Finally! Now maybe I can get some rest.

*switches off crunchland's respirator*
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:03 PM on February 8, 2011

This is awesome.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:03 PM on February 8, 2011

It was the Sears Building, not the Empire State. Or am I missing the point?
posted by GeckoDundee at 2:24 PM on February 8, 2011

And by "Building", I mean "Tower". Oops.
posted by GeckoDundee at 2:26 PM on February 8, 2011

Wasn't The Empire State Building mention a reference to one of those awful Hanks/Ryan love stories?
posted by Burhanistan at 2:27 PM on February 8, 2011

Ah, right. That's the Empire State Building in the alternative movie / TV Manhattan where everyone can afford huge appartments in the Village or Upper East Side no matter what job they have.
posted by GeckoDundee at 2:38 PM on February 8, 2011

What's a riddle that no one is asking?

The internet.
posted by inturnaround at 2:47 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Heeeey battabattabattabattabatta saaaawwiiiing batta!
posted by markkraft at 2:56 PM on February 8, 2011

Parker Lewis was at a different game that day because he was a winner.
posted by mintcake! at 3:17 PM on February 8, 2011 [2 favorites]

And by "Building", I mean "Tower". Oops.

Technically, it's now the Wesley Willis Tower.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:57 PM on February 8, 2011

I'm just surprised that it took this long for somebody to figure it out.
posted by HeroZero at 6:13 PM on February 8, 2011

The article establishes that the ballgame scenes from the movie were filmed at the real-world June 5, 1985 Cubs game. I don't think that is sufficient reason to believe that the game Ferris & co. were at in-universe was taking place on June 5, 1985 (would school even still be in session then?), nor that the foul ball Ferris caught was hit in the 11th inning.

There's an update to muddy the timeline even further with the Wrigley filming date of the actual game after the second a.d. emailed Wezen-Ball:

The game, within the Ferris Bueller universe, was on June 5, 1985, against the Braves. The game, in the real world, was filmed on September 24, 1985, against the Expos. Reconcile that contradiction how you will, but it feels pretty clear to me.

That isn't clear at all: that's making it worse!
posted by gladly at 6:49 PM on February 8, 2011

And, honestly, in the Ferris universe, it had to have been in September because of the Von Steuben Day Parade. That takes place in mid-September.
posted by inturnaround at 9:43 PM on February 8, 2011

Sadly, we don't have pitch-by-pitch data for the game, so we can't verify all the details presented in the movie (an 0-2 foul ball from Washington and then a bunt foul? Was that a bunt by Ramirez before his home run swing?). I have no reason to doubt that they are correct, though.

When you bunt foul with two strikes, it's a strikeout.
So you can't hit a home run after that.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 9:46 PM on February 8, 2011

The foul bunt must have been Ramirez on a less-than-2-strike count. We know that Washington flew out to left, so it couldn't have been his foul bunt. And Ramirez couldn't have struck out.
posted by Plutor at 6:46 AM on February 9, 2011