I made my way towards Fenway Park. I had intended to scout out the area the
night before but I was tired so I went back to my hotel instead. I figured that the traffic would be crazy for
Opening Day 100 so I parked at the very first parking garage I saw. It was two miles away from the park so I
figured it would be way cheaper and I would get the opportunity to walk through
Boston a little bit. I asked Siri on my
iPhone and she told me where to go. As I
was walking I saw a big sign that said Cheers.
Several people told me I had to go visit one of the Cheers’ while I was in
Boston so I gladly went in. I was a huge
fan of that show growing up. I remember
watching it with my parents every time it came on. I walked in and it kind of almost looked like
the TV show cheers just a lot smaller.
Apparently there are two locations, one is the bar that the show was
based odd of and the other is a replica of the show. I went into the gift shop and got a super
awesome Cheers’ shirt. The only t-shirt
I’ve purchased so far on this trip.
I continued my way towards the park and the excitement
continued to build as I got closer. For
the millionth time on this trip I just couldn’t believe I was here. The streets were packed with people and
everybody had a smile on their face. I
had purchased a standing room only ticket a while back and was in no rush to
get to my nonexistent seat. I went to
the outfield bleachers and stood by the wall for a very long time. I watched all of batting practice and just
stood there looking around. I was in awe
of this place. Every great baseball
player in the last 100 years has played on that field. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe Dimaggio, Cy Young,
Ted Williams, etc. One of the things I
noticed standing near the bleachers is that the Green Monster didn’t seem so
big. Clearly I’m not the one out there
trying to hit a ball over it. I couldn’t
help but imagine my grandfather watching games here. I imagined my great grandfather listening to
games played here on the radio.
I loved walking through the corridors and seeing all of the
rich Red Sox history. At every turn
there was something awesome to look at.
I have no shame in being the guy in the ballpark standing in the middle
of a crowded corridor trying to take a picture.
Yea, I’m that guy, stop by and say hi next time! At the bottom of this blog there will be a
link to the pictures I took from that game.
You have to check them out.
I found an ok place to stand to watch the first pitch and
National Anthem. Watching the National Anthem
was pretty awesome. They had an Air Force
unit on the field and they received a standing ovation. The flag that they draped over the green
monster was outrageous. The thing was
absolutely huge. At the end of the Star
Spangled Banner there was a fly over of F-16’s by an Air Force National Guard
unit out of Vermont. Apparently I was
standing in a no standing room only zone so an usher asked me to leave. There was several of us standing there and
some of the men got extremely upset.
They commented on how the staff at Fenway has taken a turn for the worst
over the last several years. I don’t
know if that is accurate or not but the guy just seemed to be doing his
job.
I found some seats that nobody was sitting in because they
were directly behind a pole. All I had
to do was lean a little to the left and right to attempt to see what was going
on. As I looked around the park I
noticed that there were a ton of these poles all over. The thing I dislike most about Fenway Park is
that nearly every view is an obstructed view.
It’s hard to say that they should build a new park. This park is an absolute amazing part of
history and should live in Boston forever.
But it certainly has its drawbacks.
I walked around a little while and found the perfect place
to stand. It was on the first base side
just beyond the beer patio/standing room only section. At the top of the 100 level there’s a tiny
walkway, maybe big enough for two people, and it has a little ledge behind
it. I stood on the ledge and could see
most of the ballpark. When a fly ball
was hit I couldn’t follow it so I would just watch the field for player
reactions. The man who was standing next
to me was a loud Sox fan. That is one
thing I loved about the Boston fans, they were loud and very passionate. When the Sox would make a good play this man
would slap my back or shake me a little bit.
He was really into the game and it was really making for an enjoyable
experience. We started exchanging stories
and I found out his name is John and he is a fourth generation Firefighter on
Cape Cod. He was a nice guy and kept
thanking me for my service. After a
while his daughter Sarah came up and her dad introduced us. I talked to her for a while and she was just
as much a Red Sox fan as her father.
Once again showing the hospitality of the average American person she
offered me a place to stay if I’m ever in Cape Cod. It still shocks me that people actually do
this. After a good conversation I parted
ways with Sarah and John and went on to meet Bill Pritchard whom I met on www.ballparkchasers.com.
I met up with Bill and his friends who were in Boston via
New Jersey. Bill and his brother are
huge Sox fans and their buddy is a Yankees fan.
Their friend was afraid to wear his Yankees gear so he bought a San Francisco
Giants hat instead. I guess anything is
better than wearing a New York Yankees hat.
The group gave me tips about Boston and other cities they’ve been
to. Me and Bill discussed out journeys
to get to all 30. I told them I was
going to walk around for a bit and they invited me out for beers after the
game. I had to get to Philly for a game
the next day but I had plenty of time so I met up with them. We went to a pizzeria Uno (which didn’t seem
anything like the pizzeria Uno in Chicago to me) and had a beer. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and
hopefully our paths will cross again at some point.
My next stop on the journey was Philly and I wasn’t sure
what I should expect. The Philly fans
have a reputation for being rather harsh.
Keep On Smilin- It’s Baseball Season
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