Sitting through the stop-and-go traffic, raising a family under the sky scrapers and working at the same job for more than a decade in Chicago can make life monotonous.

But when Chicago Cubs radio broadcaster Pat Hughes is heading toward his employment of the last 11 years, monotonous is one of the last words he would use to describe the situation.

“I still enjoy the game; the game fascinates me,” Hughes said. “It’s exciting to be there, especially with a team like the Cubs where a million people are listening a minute.”

But Hughes didn’t start at the top. In fact, being a broadcaster wasn’t even his plan.

Hughes’ career started on accident when boredom took the best of the San Jose State basketball player while sitting on the bench. Commentary began to flow out of the young announcers’ mouth. It was so entertaining that when he stopped, teammates asked for more.

Hughes realized he didn’t have the athletic ability to make a career with sports, but could use broadcasting as a tool to continue with his passion.

The California native worked his way through the minor leagues before landing a job with the Minnesota Twins for a year in 1983, and then the Milwaukee Brewers for 12.

It was in 1996 that Hughes sat behind the microphone with Cubs legend Ron Santo for the first time. The two automatically hit it off to form a team that is into it’s 11th season.

“He teases me, I tease him. I think the audience likes that,” Hughes said. “[Ron] is the ultimate Cubs fan. It’s genuine, it’s not some act you hear.”

And it’s genuine acts of compassion and love Hughes remembers the most from his career of more than 4,000 games.

Out of all the stadiums, teams and events Hughes witnessed, the game in which Sammy Sosa hit his 60th home run is one of his fondest memories in baseball.

Not just because Sosa hit his 60th home run, the first time the feat was ever achieved at Wrigley Field, not just because the Cubs rallied being down 2-10 to win the game 15-12 in ninth inning, but because he shared the memory with his oldest daughter.

“She sat right between me and Ron Santo in the both,” Hughes said. “It was the excitement of Sammy, having my daughter there … it was just a great day.”

Hughes said the excitement of Wrigley is what makes the ballpark special.

While the park is “pretty,” the fans make Wrigley special for the announcer after more than a decade of service and countless tours of other ballparks.

“I love the outfield walls, I love the lack of commercialism, I like the funky old scoreboard,” Hughes said. “But the ballpark is not enough to make you get goose bumps — it’s the fans that give you the goose bumps.”

In 11 years, Hughes has yet to miss one of these impromptu fan moments. But even with the glory of seeing all the moments such as Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeouts and Sosa’s 61st home run, there is the price of travel, health and stress.

While some fans believe Santo and Hughes wing their show and just make jokes, it’s quite the contrary. The two constantly work to prepare a three-hour, non-scripted show.

But despite the stress, travel and health concerns, Hughes loves his job. After 24 years in the business, the broadcaster still loves hustling through the traffic of Chicago, passing mammoth buildings that line the sky and going to another day of work at the ballpark.