'Here's a ticket': Bill Murray offers Game 6 seat to random Cubs fan
'I thought it was just a ticket to get in,' Karen Michel said of seat alongside celebs
Karen Michel was just a hurting Cubs fan lurking around the box office at Cleveland's Progressive Field on Tuesday when salvation came out of left field.
Michel, who watched the first five games at home in Whiting, Ind., told MLB.com that she was just about to give up her search for a single ticket to Game 6 of her team's clincher against Cleveland when Bill Murray appeared in the crowd.
"He turns around and says: 'Here, here's a ticket,'" she recalled.
"And he kind of shuttled me into the door. I thought it was just a ticket to get in. But it was a ticket to sit right here."
Bill Murray gave a random <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs">@Cubs</a> fan his extra <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldSeries?src=hash">#WorldSeries</a> Game 6 ticket because that's just how Bill Murray rolls: <a href="https://t.co/Mxr5uCcFS3">https://t.co/Mxr5uCcFS3</a>
—@Cut4As you can see from the photo, "here" meant in the seat next to the international celebrity, a few rows behind home plate.
"I didn't think it would be anything like this," Michel said of Murray's surprise offer.
Bonded over childhoods
Also in the premium section Tuesday night were Pearl Jam rocker Eddie Vedder and NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios. NBC weatherman and entertainer Al Roker was also photographed sitting nearby, over Michel's right shoulder.
So far the <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs">@Cubs</a> good luck charm is working against <a href="https://twitter.com/Indians">@Indians</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/game6?src=hash">#game6</a> of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldSeries?src=hash">#WorldSeries</a> <a href="https://t.co/GtHXne8ZSi">pic.twitter.com/GtHXne8ZSi</a>
—@alrokerOkay. Big game tonight after <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs">@Cubs</a> crushed <a href="https://twitter.com/Indians">@Indians</a> last night. But being next to this guy made you laugh through your tears. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BillMurray?src=hash">#BillMurray</a> <a href="https://t.co/gnf1KYZh9n">pic.twitter.com/gnf1KYZh9n</a>
—@alrokerMichel said during the game, she and Murray bonded over talk about their childhoods and, of course, the Cubs' 9-3 victory over Cleveland, forcing Wednesday's winner-take-all seventh game.
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It's not the first time the prolific American actor — best known for his work on Saturday Night Live as well as cinematic hits like Ghostbusters and Lost in Translation — has shrugged off his celebrity to hang with the public.
The 66-year-old Mark Twain Prize-winner has been known to crash bachelor parties as well as strangers's engagement photos. His surprise appearance stories are so frequent, there's an entire website dedicated to logging them.
The Cubs take on Cleveland Wednesday at 8 p.m. E.T.