Nearly every game day, rain or shine, Chicago Cubs fan Sam Bernero can be found in the same spot outside Wrigley Field.
Positioned near the Waveland Avenue building entrance adjacent to the ballpark that leads to the home clubhouse and front office’s work spaces, Bernero, dressed in Cubs gear and armed with her smartphone, says hello to everyone and snaps photos. She shares the pictures on her social media accounts to give Cubs fans a look at the players arriving for that day’s game, often capturing players waving in acknowledgement.
She calls her photos “Cubbie candids” because of the casual nature and friendliness of the arriving players. The shots have become a staple of Cubs fans’ online community, and it has led to fans and even players first learning of Cubs roster moves because of the photos Bernero shares of Triple-A or rehabbing players’ arrival at Wrigley.
Bernero started taking photos of Cubs players’ arrivals during the 2018 season and typically misses only a couple of games each year despite making the trek from Schaumburg, which can be a 90-minute to 2½-hour round-trip commute depending on traffic. It’s been a unique way for fans to have a look at Cubs players beyond the field.
“I feel like something would be wrong if I didn’t get to see Sam on the way in every day,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “I mean, her dedication and love for us and who we are and all this, it’s pretty cool. And it kind of keeps things in perspective, of seeing what we mean to so many people.”
Bernero, 72, grew up in the Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods before moving to Schaumburg 25 years ago. She fell in love with the Cubs by growing up watching them on TV. Her father was deaf and without TV captioning in that era, sports were always on. Taking photos has always been a hobby dating back to the 1990s when she would take pictures at Bulls games. That evolved in the 2000s to using Chicago as her backdrop and she was part of photography groups that explored the city. Then, for the last eight years, a dedication to the Cubs.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many thousands and thousands of Cub pictures I have,” Bernero said.
Occasionally, she’s blown up Cubs photos she’s taken and had them signed, but largely they live on her computer as a rotating screen saver. Bernero remembers during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season receiving a message from Anthony Rizzo’s wife, who told her that seeing pictures of Rizzo arriving at the ballpark every day in his mask made her feel like she was there. In a gesture of appreciation, she sent Bernero a signed baseball and pictures from Rizzo.
“She kind of represents Cubs fans as a whole, in a lot of ways, in that our fans are incredibly loyal, and they always show up,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said of Bernero. “We always have an incredible group of people behind us, and Sam is definitely on the extreme end of that — she’s literally there every day, every event we have, no matter what, she’s making it a priority and always bringing a smile and positivity.
“Baseball is such a daily game of consistency, and she definitely brings it on her end every day.”
Ian Happ, the longest-tenured Cub, has seen Bernero show up for years and always has appreciated her devotion. He remembered during 2020 still seeing Bernero every game day. On the final day of that season, Happ made sure to stop on his walk over from the Zachary Hotel across the street from the ballpark to thank her for her support.
“Not a lot of fan support that year, just with the way things were you couldn’t see the fans, you had a little bit of the rooftops, couldn’t interact with the fans, couldn’t see them and for her to still be out there every day was really cool,” Happ said. “And she’s been there, no matter if it was the second half of ’21 or ’22 and we were losing 80, 90 games or whether we were on top of the world, I think the players appreciate the consistency in the fact that she cares.”
Bernero’s casual arrival photos also provide a glimpse of players’ clothing style.
Ben Brown wryly pointed out that knowing their daily fits will be shared keeps players honest in not re-wearing outfits within a homestand. Earlier this season, Shota Imanaga joked that the amount of clothes in his home “has gotten very big” because he knows pictures of what he’s wearing will likely be seen — and quipped with a smile that he wants to send Bernero his bill but won’t because he likes everything he’s bought. Imanaga has embraced Chicago, which is often reflected by the Bears, Blackhawks and even Fighting Illini gear he wears to Cubs games.
Japanese fans often light up Bernero’s social media direct messages, eagerly waiting for the daily look at Imanaga.
“As baseball players, we want all the fans to love the sport of baseball, and they can watch us wearing our jerseys and remember our names, but also see what we wear on a day-to-day basis, like our regular clothes,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And maybe if that’s how they take interest, they start watching baseball, that’s great. The more fans we get and the more love in the sport, it helps us connect.”
Bernero will often hear from fans who request to see specific players. The most popular outfit requests have been for Imanaga, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya. Even some teammates have noted how Crow-Armstrong and Amaya are among the best-dressed Cubs players.
“Fans get so excited about it, but they love to see the fashion,” Bernero said. “And you’ve got to try to get pictures with the shoes too. I’m limited with what I can get, but fans love seeing that, and they love seeing pictures of them, waving and stuff and to see pictures of them signing for kids.”
Bernero makes sure to keep her distance and doesn’t share any photos of players’ families or kids. Her smile and wave, for many players, kicks off Wrigley game days.