Randy and I are more than halfway down the road on our journey to visit all 30 Major League Baseball parks, but we're still much closer to halfway than we are to the finish. So it seems logical that out of four teams left in the playoffs, we've been to two of the parks: the Rogers Centre in Toronto and Wrigley Field in Chicago. (No trips yet to see the homes of the Mets or the Royals.)
Since Randy and I have visited both parks that are hosting playoff games tonight, we thought it was an appropriate time to do a little review of our trips to Toronto and Chicago.
Here is the Rogers Centre. (And, just for the record, "RC" is Randy and "PC" is Penny.)
(RC)
Penny and I were on a walk today, and we discussed how it's cool to actually see places (sports venues, especially) on television AFTER you've been there live. You have a feel for the place.
So I thought it was interesting that two of our trips, to the Rogers Centre in Toronto and to Wrigley Field, were two of my favorites. Totally different, but excellent in both cases.
It's probably a good thing we're doing this blog tonight. Right now the Blue Jays are getting hammered by the Royals, and the series is going to be 3-1 in favor of Kansas City. Maybe there will only be one more game in this series. I hope not.
The Rogers Centre looks kind of dead. I'll bet those outstanding Blue Jays cheerleaders can't even get this crowd going tonight.
(PC)
I went back and looked at our previous entry for Toronto. I had forgotten how dead the crowd was when we were there. The atmosphere around the stadium was nothing compared to Wrigley.
Randy failed to mention it wasn't really the cheerleaders he liked but the skimpy outfits!
(RC)
Now, now Penny. I liked the dancing. And those young ladies are called the J Force, thank you very much.
Penny is right about the atmosphere around the Rogers Centre. There was none to speak of. The CN Tower is next door. But nothing screams "baseball hotbed."
Still, I liked the vibe inside the Rogers Centre. I thought they were decent and relatively lively crowds for midyear Friday night, Saturday afternoon games.
The highlight of theToronto trip, though, was watching the Friday night game from the right-centerfield window of the Renaissance Hotel.
(PC)
Don't forget the little old ladies who ignored me while I was waiting for you to get food. I left you alone with them for a few minutes and you guys were best friends when I came back.
We did have great seats on Saturday, and I'm really glad we went, but it is not on my list of places I want to revisit.
The Cubs game is coming on TV right now. Now that was one place we said should be a yearly trip. If you want to revisit our Wrigley trip, it is on our old blog, :So, Is the Scoreboard Big Enough?"
Here are some pics to remind you.
I loved the excitement around the stadium. The music, crowd, history! I hate to even mention the things I didn't like.
(RC)
It makes me happy to read what I just read from Penny. I notice she mentioned history and Wrigley Field in the same concept. ... Now I wouldn't ever want to give her grief about anything, but I think for the sake of accuracy I should mention that she has her own "history" with Wrigley Field.
It's a piece of recent history - a story about an elementary school principal (named Penny) that visited Wrigley Field in 2011 and called me FROM THE PARK to say the following: "I can't believe you think this place is so great. This is a DUMP! It's the worst place I've ever seen. Why do you like this place? We can't get out of here fast enough."
Ok, I'm done. Couldn't resist.
But here's part 2. She had lousy seats four years, she sat on the top row far down the rightfield line, and her view was obstructed by a post. We actually walked up to where she sat in 2011 before we took our seats about 20 rows up from the first-base dugout.
Her second trip to Wrigley was far more enchanting, she said.
(By the way, the guy at home plate in the picture above is the late Ernie Banks, who was honored that night by the organization.)
(PC)
More enchanting the second time mainly because you were there :)
Really. One of the things I really didn't like was the scoreboard. On tv it looks like the new ones are much better and not so creepy! I also enjoyed actually seeing the game the second time. Seriously, here is where my seats were the first time.
As you know, for me, the atmosphere is the deciding factor in whether I like a park or not, and Wrigley was a win for me on that one.
I'm surprised Randy didn't mention that there were no cheerleaders!
The food is another story. Nothing here for us vegetarians! (Unlike across town at U.S. Cellular; the White Sox do the food thing right!)
(RC)
Regarding our trips, there were two versions of baseball "Mecca" for me, and they are obvious: Wrigley and Fenway. We've seen both.
Fenway was a mixed bag. Terrible seats, a fading and bad Red Sox team and claustrophobic conditions in and around Fenway made it merely an 8. 5 on a 10 scale for me. Wrigley was a strong 10 out of 10.
The more familiar Penny gets with the game, the more she seems to appreciate what we found at Wrigley, which was the following:
- A true neighborhood stadium, with fantastic bars and restaurants all around
- History and more history inside and outside
- Ivy walls that were just as impressive in person as they were to me almost a half-century ago, the first time I saw them on television
- One of the best traditions in baseball, the seventh-inning singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
When we visited Chicago, Penny really got into the history of the Cubs. All that losing. The "billy goat" curse. The across-the-street, rooftop seats. Etc., etc.
This is fun tonight watching the Cubs and the Mets. People are standing and stomping and yelling because they have a terrific team to watch. This - playing for a spot in the World Series - is a scenario Cubs fans could only dream about on the 2013 night we saw the Cubs and the Reds playing on a chilly, windy night. That night, the last-place Cubs lost in 11 innings to the playoff-hopeful Reds.
This year, the last-place-in-the-division Reds are sitting home watching the Cubs try to secure a spot in the World Series.
Go Cubbies!
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