Cubs fans converge in Pittsburgh ahead of wild-card game

PITTSBURGH (WLS) -- Cubs fans are popping up everywhere in Pittsburgh ahead of Wednesday night's wild-card game against the Pirates.

"We travel well everywhere we go, so I'm positive that we're going to have a presence here. It's going to happen," said Serafin Herrera, a Cubs fan.

PNC Park will be blacked out because fans are being urged to wear black, but there's going to be some Cubbie blue in there, too.

"There's going to be a lot of blue," said Vince Shelton, a Cubs fan.

Shelton, his son and friend Serafin just arrived on a plane from Chicago with some other special passengers.

"We were with the wives, Arrieta's wife, the kids. First base coach, a bunch of the wives, we really didn't know who their husbands were," Herrera said. "They were very excited. I overheard one say they couldn't sleep well."

The backdrop for the game is hard to beat. PNC Park is a favorite among Major League fans.

"It's a beautiful view. I've got beautiful seats by the Cubs dugout. Hopefully Jake Arrietta can get the job done and continue that hot streak he is on," said Thad McGlinchey, a Cubs fan.

Thad and Sarah McGlinchey were the first Cubs fans we found at the park, but they know a sea of blue is following them.

On Penn Avenue, the Pirates gear is selling fast and confidence is high. Art Grimes thinks it's a done deal already.

"The Cubs are a great team, no doubt about it. And it's not going to be a very, very tough battle tomorrow," Grimes said.

Having a consistent winner on the baseball diamond hasn't been common in a city dominated by the Steelers.

"We went from one shirt a year for the Pirates - and it was normally making fun of them - to carrying half a store worth of Pirates stuff. So, just a couple of years makes a big difference," said John Coen, a Pittsburgh merchant.

First pitch for the wild-card game is just after 7 p.m. Wednesday. Whoever wins will face the St. Louis Cardinals in a best-of-five divisional series.