EAST MOLINE, Ill – The story of two brothers who played hooky to go to opening day at Wrigley Field is going viral – because they ran into their principal.
Tucker and Gunner Speckman skipped school at Wells Elementary and went to see the Cubs opener with their parents, carrying a sign that read “Skipping school. S-h-h-h, don’t tell Principal Versluis.”
The boys say they were hoping to be spotted by a TV camera at the game so they could send the message back to East Moline.
Not to worry. Principal Patrick Versluis was at the game with his son and spotted the boys and their sign.
“I made a comment, to them, like ‘Hey, you guys can’t be skipping school,’ and then saw the sign”, he told WQAD.
By that time, someone with Major League Baseball had already tweeted the sign to the league’s 8.3 million followers.
A Chicago Sun Times reporter then picked up the story about the students and their principal who skipped school to see the opener.
“It’s just gone crazy. My phone blew up. The media asking for interviews, it started at two this morning,” said Principal Versluis.
The boys, who are 6 and 9, say they were rewarded with the tickets by their parents for their straight A grades.
The principal says he is lucky enough to be part of a group that shares season tickets, and this year, he was drawn for opening day.
“Attendance is important. But, we also learn from these experiences in life. Who’s giving up opening day? Come on,” he said.
