Alex Cooper appeared to thoroughly enjoy herself during her seventh-inning stretch performance Sunday at Wrigley Field.
Not everyone on hand for the Chicago Cubs’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to feel the same way about the “Call Her Daddy” podcast host’s throaty, off-key and completely tongue-in-cheek rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
The MLB tradition of singing the classic tune between the top and bottom of the seventh inning was popularized by the legendary late Chicago White Sox and Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, whose vocals weren’t close to pristine but were unquestionably earnest.
Cooper was cheered as she was announced over the loudspeaker as the latest guest to lead the stadium in the tradition.
“All right, Daddy Gang and Cubs fans, are you ready? You’ve never seen something like this,” Cooper said with a laugh before launching into the song with the intro made famous by Caray: “Ah one! Ah two! Ah three!”
For many fans in attendance, the performance went downhill from there. Cooper belted out the song in an unnaturally low key and overly dramatic fashion, laughing often as she and two companions attempted to accompany the vocal performance with a few dance moves.
For what might have been intended as a big finish, the backup dancers attempted to hoist Cooper onto their shoulders.
Cooper was clearly having a blast. And to be clear, a number of folks at the stadium could be heard singing along as they would during any seventh-inning stretch. But as this clip from the performance shows, there were many others who expressed their displeasure with Cooper’s intentionally bizarre performance.
Cooper’s appearance at Wrigley was part of the “Big Al’s Takeover” promotion, with fans who purchased a special ticket package receiving a commemorative Cubs jersey with Cooper’s Unwell branding on the back.
“You don’t want to miss Alex lead the crowd in ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the seventh-inning stretch,” an article on the Cubs website had promised.
A number of fans seem to wish that they had.
