A screenshot from the Marquee Sports Network broadcast of Friday's Cubs-Pirates game showing a fighter jet flying over Wrigley Field Photo Credit: Marquee Sports Network
By Reice Shipley on

Friday’s broadcast of the Chicago Cubs matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Marquee Sports Network was anything but typical. But perhaps the strangest part of the broadcast came during the seventh inning stretch when a fighter jet flying over Wrigley Field started everyone in attendance, including the players in the dugout.

Fittingly, Hayden Christensen, who is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, took to the Cubs broadcast booth with his daughter to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh inning stretch.

As they began to sing, they were interrupted by the fighter jet flying over Wrigley Field, which was seemingly flying over as part of rehearsals for the annual Chicago Air and Water Show that is set to take place Saturday and Sunday.

The jokes write themselves when you consider Darth Vader being interrupted by a fighter jet. And it seemed as if Christensen was well aware of the irony, chuckling to himself, which was heard on the Cubs broadcast, before continuing with the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.

Meanwhile, players in the Cubs dugout were just as shocked as Christensen, if not even more so. Upon hearing the jet flying over, several Cubs players braced themselves and covered their head, not knowing what was happening above them. The Cubs broadcast team got a good laugh over the reaction from the players, which was shown prior to the start of the bottom of the seventh inning.

Somehow, in the same broadcast where one fan was shown dressed up as a clown for a fantasy football punishment, and another was captured flipping the bird to cameras after catching a flyball, a fighter jet may very well have been the wildest part of the broadcast.

Given how wild the broadcast ended up being, most would expect the game itself to be equally as entertaining. And at least the ending of the game did indeed deliver drama, with the Pirates coming away with a 3-2 victory after Jack Suwinski came through with a home run to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley