From Now On It’s Either Fenway Park or the Tube.
Those of you who stop in here occasionally know that I have followed the fortunes of the Boston Red Sox for longer than I care to remember. I see the Sox play in Fenway Park almost every year and that is something every baseball fan should experience … even casual fans. The place is sold out for every game and the fans are supportive, enthusiastic and understand the fine points of the game.
I’ve also seen the Red Sox play in several other ballparks around the country and it’s just not the same. Not even close. For one thing, all the other stadiums have multiple electronic signs that are constantly telling you what to do, like …
MAKE NOISE!!
Or the stadium organ starts a rhythmic cadence and animated hands start clapping on the scoreboards. (OK, it’s time for everyone to start clapping.)
Or they play a recording of somebody blowing a bugle call and everyone is supposed to yell, “Charge!”
Worst of all, the stadium public address announcer doubles as cheerleader, fairly screeching the name of each home team player as he comes to bat … as if this particular plate appearance is the most exciting event to occur since … well … since the guy before him popped up to the second baseman.
Apparently, they think there are 35,000 morons in the stands who must be told when it’s time to get excited and when to applaud. None of that stuff happens at Fenway Park. If the Red Sox management ever tried it, the fans would revolt.
So I’ve decided: No more trips to Kansas City or Oakland or — worst of all — Anaheim (where the crowd actually waves floppy little stuffed monkeys in the air!) From now on I go all the way to Boston to see them play. Or I don’t go at all.
Besides, what a great excuse for another cross-country train ride!
I attended a Cubs game at Wrigley Field a few years and loved it. Every time I pass through Chicago on the train I check the schedule to see if the Cubs are at home. I should have mentioned in my post that the atmosphere there is very much like it is at Fenway Park. And you’re right: fans at Wrigley are treated with the same kind of respect that is shown to the Boston crowds. Say … wouldn’t a Cubs-Red Sox World Series be something!!
If you get a chance to see a game at Wrigley Field, don’t miss it. We went last fall when the Cubs were still in the race. You get off the Red Line and join the crowds walking into the park, not metal detectors or bag searches; the park is part of the sidewalk is part of the train.
There are no electronic scoreboards or monitors. Sometimes we had to hold “committee meetings” with the people in the seats around us to figure out what had just happened. We were in the last row from the top, but still the two guys immediately in front of us go a cheer going that eventually infected the whole park.
And they sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” at the 7th inning stretch. With the setting sun illuminating the various flags flying over the city, it was a most American moment, unlike those awful post 9-11 “God Bless America” renditions.
Now the sports have become more commercialize and means much more than just sports.
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