Hello, Lunchtime At The Laguna Patrons,
Today on “LATL,” I played General Public’s “Taking The Day Off.”
The 1986 song is featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a quintessential piece of 80’s cinema.
I played the song because today is the anniversary of the actual baseball game Ferris, Cameron, and Sloan attended during the movie, but there is a little story behind it.
The game in the movie is the Atlanta Braves visiting the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 5, 1985. The Cubs lost 4-2.
This game is seen on the television in the bar when Principal Rooney is looking for the kids.
However, the scene featuring the famous “Hey batta, batta, swing batta” line and Ferris catching the foul ball was shot September 24, 1985, when the Expos and Cubs put on a pitching masterpiece that saw the north of the Borders beat the Cubs 17-15. Eventual Cub Andre Dawson hit three home runs that day for Montreal.
Director John Hughes chose this date for filming as the Cubs were out of contention with low attendance, and getting a crew into the stands was easy to shoot. Also, the Expos and Braves wore blue road uniforms then.
Regardless of the scheduled September pickup shots, June 5, 1985, is often referred to as Ferris Bueller Day, as that baseball game is the only thing linking the kid’s adventures to any point in time.
The film was released on June 11, 1986, and made 71 million dollars on a 5 million budget.
jb
Photo Courtesy Paramount Pictures
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