Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer, widely considered to be among the best in the Big Ten this upcoming season, had a very exciting Tuesday night. He got to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” alongside his head coach Bret Bielema, at Wrigley Field tonight during the Chicago Cubs 5-3 win over the arch-rival Milwaukee Brewers.
“Been warming up the vocals a little bit,” Altmyer told the media at a pregame media opportunity at a pub adjacent to the ballpark.
The seventh-inning stretch duet @Cubs fans didn’t know they needed pic.twitter.com/qfKzNcO9qc
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) June 18, 2025
“It’s something that never thought I’d be doing but glad I’m doing it. A beautiful city in Chicago and the mecca of baseball in general. So to be here, is pretty cool.”
When it came time to begin the seventh inning stretch, of a game that was in fact designated “Illini Night” at the ballpark, Bielema began by saying:
“Brewer fans sit down. Cub fans, let me hear ya!”
It was pretty funny prima facie, but even more humorous when you consider that Bielema was head coach at Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012.
Bielema then ended the rendition with a robust “I-L-L!” chant, and that got a nice “I-N-I!” reaction from the Wrigley Field crowd.”
The Cubs win stretched their NL Central division lead to 6.5 games over the Brewers. If you look at MLB postseason futures odds, on any of the the Canadian betting apps, you’ll see that the Cubs are overwhelming favorites to win the NL Central division right now. As for Illinois, their prospects are optimistic as well.
The Illini are coming off their 5th 10-win season in school history, which was capped off by a historical Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina in Orlando on New Year’s.
Returning 18/22 starters in 2025, expectations are sky high for the Illini this fall.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter