With the mayor lifting COVID-19 attendance restrictions, Chicago Cubs were back in full force at Wrigley Field.
And with them came the infamous empty beer cup snakes.
While some aren't fans of the long plastic testaments to human's desire and need for community, outfielder Joc Pederson is.
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"I love the snake," Pederson said during an interview while promoting Pepsi's Fly Your Fandom contest. "I think that it's pretty funny."
But some fans will go to ridiculous lengths to build a beer snake, as Pederson overheard while playing in the outfield.
"I heard someone trying to... He said, 'I want to buy your cups for twenty dollars,'" Pederson recounted. "I was like, why don't you just go buy a couple beers? But no, he wanted to buy empty cups. I was like, man, you guys are nuts, but it's funny.
"You're buying empty used cups for your snake."
MLB
One estimate had the value of a cup snake at $30,000, not counting buying empty cups on the secondary market.
It's all a part of an atmosphere that's unrivaled, and to Pederson, part of an energy that fuels the players.
"It gives you an energy vibe off their energy, whether it's a day game, night game that's sold out," Pederson said. "The fans are screaming and the beer snake, all that good stuff."
So there you have it, cup snakes give the players energy when they play.
Unfortunately some overzealous fans threw a cup snake on the field, which Pederson didn't love, and their ban might be reinstated.