Tonight I was at U.S. Cellular Field - formerly the "new" Comiskey Park - in the southside of Chicago. I picked up a ticket from our firm's payroll manager, whose brother is a Chicago police officer, with the police officer's association selling tickets as part of a fundraiser. We sat in the LF bleachers, watching the defending world champ White Sox take on the hapless Kansas City Royals.
Of course, the Royals were far from hapless this evening - they hung on to win 4-2, with the Chisox playing a sloppy defensive game that included a dropped fly ball to Jermaine Dye early the in game which allowed the inning to continue and the Royals to score a run. AJ Pierzynski, beloved by the southside, bemoaned by Giants fans, did what I saw him do waaaaay too many times in a Giant uniform...grounded into a double play.
However, I must say that the experience of attending a game at this ballpark is quite nice...I was surprised to see how wide the concourse was on the main level, as compared to AT&T Park in San Francisco, which has relatively wide concourses (compared to Candlestick), but is a much more intimate park that is squeezed onto a 13 acre site. I was awed at the size of this ballpark, which is much taller than AT&T Park, mainly due to the double-decker luxury suite level.
Awhile back, when Will had a Categories question about items from other sports that would make baseball more appealing (tongue in cheek of course), a couple of respondents suggested cheerleaders. The White Sox come closest, as they had young women, in very short shorts and Sox tee shirts, prance around the field throwing T-shirts into the crowd and dancing atop the dugouts (along with a couple of male "cheerleaders" - not unlike those you find in college squads, only without the gymnastics).
Food was good - I had a grilled hot dog with grilled onions and a diet soda, which only set me back $7.75. While my newfound Chicago friends thought that pricey, I found it to be a tremendous bargain compared to San Francisco, whereupon the same combo (with kraut added in addition to onions) will set you back nearly $12.
All in all - a good evening at the ballpark. While it's not a particularly intimate ballpark, it is a pleasant place to watch a game.
And for someone like me, it isn't often that I can say I'm watching the defending world champs. Sure am not going to say that about my Giants anytime soon...
2 comments:
Even though they lost, this Sox team was fun to watch this year! As for the cheerleaders, I forgot about them in Cincy. They had the same type thing, throwing shirts and dancing stuff.
Found a great quote:
"People ask me what I do all winter when there is no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." --Rogers Hornsby
Sadly, summer is almost over. And to make it even worse, football is here.....
Rules when visiting another ballpark:
1) Always buy and wear the cap of the home team unless said team is playing your home team, then loyalty takes precedent.
2) Always buy a hot dog and beverage - for price and quality comparison.
3) Always rate new ballpark against your own friendly confines.
4) Always enjoy the game. There is nothing quite like a good baseball game.
Post a Comment