CHICAGO — Anthony Rizzo knew exactly how he wanted to spend his first game at Wrigley Field as a fan.

“I’m going to sit in the bleachers,” Rizzo said before Saturday’s game. “I’m going to eat a hot dog. I’m going to drink some adult beverages. And are we allowed to do the beer snake? Because I will be the rally-starter for the beer snake.”

Rizzo also joked that he was going to throw a ball at Cubs left fielder — and former teammate — Ian Happ during the game.

The experience proved to be even more surreal than Rizzo could have anticipated, as he very nearly caught a home run ball in the bottom of the second inning.

Cubs rookie Moisés Ballesteros connected on his first career homer — and it clanked off the hand of Rizzo in the second row of the left field bleachers.

Even though he didn’t catch that homer, Saturday was a storybook day for Rizzo in his triumphant return to Wrigley Field after announcing his retirement earlier in the week.

He said that as he was sitting at home in April and May, he would watch the Cubs on TV and could not wait to return to The Friendly Confines for a day game.

“This is a cathedral,” Rizzo said on “Cubs Live!” before Saturday’s game.

Everybody has their own reasons for why Wrigley Field holds a special place in their hearts.

Rizzo provided his when asked by Cole Wright and Carlos Peña.

“First and foremost, it’s the fan experience,” Rizzo said. “You pull up to the ballpark, it’s in the middle of a neighborhood. The day games are the best ever here. Everyone used to come through and be like, ‘I don’t know how you play these day games.’ And I looked and I’m like, ‘you’re crazy; the day games are the best.’

“And then I get over to New York and I’m like, OK, I can understand why everyone complains about the day games. The day games, the atmosphere here, the ivy, the bricks — it’s where you want to be.”

Rizzo played 668 games at Wrigley Field throughout his 10-year Cubs career and he made sure not to take any of them for granted.

“There’s nothing better,” Rizzo said on the Marquee Sports Network broadcast. “The 1:20 games here, I used to walk out all the time and it’s August, it’s September — it’s the dog days of summer. And you get out here, you know that there’s somebody here for their first time. You wear that and I always took pride in that.

“Once you hit the field, if you’re dragging a little bit, the energy here — it’s unmatched anywhere else in the league.”

Catch the full in-game interview with Rizzo on the Marquee Sports Network app.