Watch: War Bear Receives Rousing Welcome at IU Basketball Game Wednesday Night
I knew Kyle Schwarber would be a great fit with the Cubs from the moment they drafted him. After all, I reasoned, anyone who can make baseball relevant at Indiana University has got what it takes to help put the Cubs over the top. And, boy howdy, was that ever true.
The conquering hero returned to his old college stomping grounds as an honorary captain as the Hoosiers took on North Carolina in the B1G/ACC Challenge. The atmosphere at (The Real) Assembly Hall is always charged, but it’s even more so for a matchup with a fellow blue-blood program. Then you add in the reunion of the 1981 national championship team and War Bear’s homecoming and…
Great to have #iubase alum @kschwarb12 serve as an honorary captain last night for @IndianaMBB. https://t.co/AowubhGBGG
— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) December 1, 2016
Huge ovation, followed by the singing of "Go Cubs, Go," for honorary game captain Kyle Schwarber. pic.twitter.com/BDQQKigfCa
— Andy Wittry (@AndyWittry) December 1, 2016
The crowd got cranked up, waving W flags and singing “Go, Cubs, Go” and also cheering/singing along as Jim Cornelison — a graduate of the IU School of Music — belted out the national anthem. It was a Hoosiers/Cubs/Blackhawks mashup, not dissimilar from my Twitter timeline, and the emotion carried over onto the floor as IU handily dispatched UNC.
And it all went down immediately after the MLB’s new CBA agreement had been announced, which made for a very entertaining night for yours truly.