Bears tight end Olsen has a ball at Wrigley Field

Apr/03/08 08:36 PM Filed in: Greg Olsen
GregOlsen
CHICAGO – For the first time in his life, Bears tight end Greg Olsen stepped on a Major League Baseball field and sang in public Wednesday at Wrigley Field.

Olsen threw out the ceremonial first pitch and served as guest conductor for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch of the Cubs-Brewers game at the Friendly Confines.

Bears tight end Greg Olsen delivered a high fastball before Wednesday's game between the Cubs and Brewers at Wrigley Field.

Wearing a No. 82 Cubs jersey with his last name on the back, Olsen strode out to the mound with confidence and delivered a fastball that was caught by Cubs relief pitcher Carmen Pignitiello.

“I’m happy with it,” Olsen said. “It was a little high, but I was going high and hard. That was my plan. It was fun. You grow up watching baseball, and then to go out there and do that is exciting.”

Olsen watched the game from a luxury suite with a small group of people including his fiancée, Kara, and teammate Rex Grossman. 

Olsen wisely didn’t ask for any advice from Grossman, who has displayed more accuracy on the football field than he has while throwing out the first pitch in two appearances before Cubs games.

“The first one bounced about 10 feet short and the second one hit the backstop,” Grossman said. “I tried to throw it as hard as I could.”

Watching the Cubs and Brewers warm up before the game, Olsen admitted that he was nervous about stepping onto the mound.

“It’s a big moment,” he said. “You don’t want to go out and embarrass yourself. You’ve got to show that you can be a jack of all trades.”

The butterflies in Olsen’s stomach only intensified as he prepared to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” especially after hearing Grossman describe how it feels to be handed a microphone with 40,000 fans staring at you in anticipation.

“I’m a little more nervous about that, even though I would win American Idol,” Olsen joked.

Grossman’s advice to Olsen about singing was simple: “Have fun with it, and the worse you sing, the better they’ll like it,” said the quarterback, who last served as guest conductor in 2007.

Olsen did a solid job with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but his success on the mound was not replicated by the Cubs, who fell to 0-2 with an uninspired 8-2 loss to their National League Central Division rivals.

(chicagobears.com)