Rodewald: Sounds Of Wrigley Reverberate On Addison Russell's Blast

By Matt Rodewald--

(CBS) I noticed something when I listened to highlight call of Addison Russell's go-ahead three-run homer Monday night t to help the Cubs beat the Reds, 5-3.

No, it wasn't the call itself. Pat Hughes is tremendous. His play-by-play call, as expected, was excellent, full of excitement and in complete control. That's what you get when you have a professional broadcaster calling your games.

What I caught my ear was the natural sound. Of course, the roar of the crowd off the crack of the bat was immediate. It was loud.

But it was different.

Something felt more powerful about how the 40,882 in attendance for the 101st Opening Day at Wrigley Field reacted than I can remember. It was playoff-like and then some.

It felt inspiring for a brief moment. It felt like thousands were letting out 100 years of screams at once. I know it's only one game, but with the expectations being so high, there's that lingering unspeakable doubt that crept into the back of everyone's mind last week when Kyle Schwarber went down for the year with tears to his ACL and LCL.

Experts and fans know this Cubs team has a great chance be tremendous. However, as everyone knows, no matter how good you are, there will be days when you need some fortune to fall your way.

This was one of those days.

So after the Cubs were no-hit into the seventh inning Monday, it took the veteran David Ross to break up the no-no. Soon after, the No. 7 hitter busted a clutch three-run bomb to take the lead on a day where the Cubs had a mere three hits.

Laughable.

Russell took a bow, the fans kept cheering. They cheered throughout the night.

A caller reached out to Les Grobstein on the overnight show around 3:00 a.m. Monday to say that home run brought tears to his eyes.

That's powerful emotion. It sounds ridiculous, because it's just one game.

To me, something about that home run reaction caught my ear. Maybe it did for you too. Maybe it's just the first great memory of a season that many will never forget.

Matt Rodewald is an update anchor and weekend host at 670 The Score. Follow him @Matt_Rodewald.