Talk About a Die-Hard Fan

By Margaret Lyons in Miscellaneous on Jul 10, 2008 7:45PM

We know plenty of people whose devotion to the Cubs borders on the religious. So maybe it's not that surprising that there's a new way to show fandom: being interred in a Cubs mausoleum. Beyond the Vines, a Cubs-themed final resting place to be constructed in Bohemian National Cemetery, will include a stained-glass replica of the Wrigley scoreboard and is the first sports-devoted tomb in the United States. There are only 280 urn-spots available though, so act quickly. You know. Before you die. The deluxe package, which includes all funeral and cremation arrangements, and an official Cubs urn, costs $5,000.

The Chicago-based Fans Forever is also looking to expand its baseball crypts to New York, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

If you don't want to be cremated, though, you can also get a Cubs casket through Eternal Image, the official MLB urn and casket source. [Windy Citizen]

Full Beyond the Vines release after the jump.

Fans Forever Announces the First Cremation Arena for Cubs Fans-- Beyond the Vines offers extraordinarily unique “Skyboxes” for the afterlife

(CHICAGO, IL) JULY 7, 2008 – The true test of a Chicago Cub fan not only lies with day-to-day activity and passion, but it can now lay with you forever into the afterlife. Many a Cubs fan has asked to have his or her ashes spread on the turf at Wrigley Field. Now an enterprise wants to accommodate them with the next best thing. If you are a Cubs fan, your passing need not come between you and the Cubs! Earthly remains can keep you rooting for the Cubbies because fans will soon be able to spend their final resting days just a few miles away of Wrigley Field.

Fans Forever, a Chicago-based company, has reached an agreement with Bohemian National Cemetery, located at 5255 N. Pulaski, to construct “Beyond the Vines,” a 24 feet wide and 12 feet tall, wall, adorned with Ivy, a 7’ x 4’ stained glass replica of the scoreboard --- and most importantly, your loved-ones urns.

Several internment packages will be offered to current urn holders. “Fans can actually reserve a space now. “Our deluxe package will include a baseball themed ceremony, niche, urn and a baseball card wall plaque. “I’m trying to figure out a system that will transmit Cubs broadcasts into the wall, so fans will never miss a game.” Mascari said.

“It’s true that Cubs fans don’t live forever, but their team spirit never dies,” said Denny Mascari, a lifetime Cubs follower and founder of Fans Forever. "For millions of loyal Cubs fans, Wrigley Field means more than just a ballpark; it’s their shrine and sanctuary. The Cubs are a big part of my family tradition. I know my dad and his dad would have been honored to be at Beyond the Vines,” Mascari said. “It will be a comfort knowing that your loved ones are in their own perpetual skybox resting in peace with other Cubs fans. If you think about it, people have been supporting this team for 30, 40, 50 years, why shouldn't it be part of their afterlife? An eternal season ticket for 280 Cubs fans.”

In addition to the Wrigley version, Fans Forever is making arrangements in other markets with huge, loyal fan bases, as St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

This is the first time in the U.S.; a designated area for cremation interments will be sports-themed. Several European and South American soccer teams have previously constructed fan cemeteries adjacent to their stadiums and one soccer team in Great Britain offers to place remains under the playing turf at midfield.