I got some feedback about my recent blog comparing the ballparks in the Bay Area. A fellow fan sent back word that I was obviously missing out on the greatest of all ballparks, Fenway Park.
I’m not sure how the topic jumped from west coast to east. I wasn’t comparing AT&T Park to ALL parks…just to one OTHER park. AT&T is nice. But nothing can compare to the baseball cathedral that is Fenway.
The conversation thread turned my mind’s eye back to my night at Fenway Park five years ago. It was one of the most magical, enjoyable trips I have EVER made to any ballpark, anywhere. And among the classic parks, there is none greater than Fenway.
I enjoyed old Yankee Stadium; I’ve been twice to Wrigley Field and both trips were fabulous. But on a splendid, starry summer night, my family and I fell in love with venerable old Fenway. It was one of those perfect sort of summer nights when the breeze feels great and you wish the night could last for three entire months!
I was reliving the experience in my mind after this conversation. I retraced all our steps from the jam-packed subway ride to Yawkey Way to the sights and smells of the various vendors tempting fans with tasty treats.
Fenway Park, as a baseball stadium, is kind of like a national monument. In fact, going to the ballpark reminded me of going to the mall in Washington D.C. where you see all those landmarks that you’ve seen in movies and in textbooks all your life. But actually being there, for the first time, produces a cavalcade of MLB history.
It’s a bit surreal, even.
We were at Fenway in 2007 - one of the Red Sox two recent World Series years. It’s hard NOT to imagine that long-suffering Red Sox fans really had it tough before ‘04 and ‘07. All of that misery has been chronicled.
Much of it has been soothed, I hope, with the raising of those two championship banners.
Thus, with one in the bank (and one on the way) we could just sit back, enjoy, and take in some of the now-familiar sights of this special place.
To that end, we purchased seats down the left field line near the infamous green monster (over which Carlton Fisk hit the infamous home run to end Game 6 of the Classic 1975 World Series with Cincinnati).
In fact, if you’ve seen a recent Red Sox game on television, or in person, you might remember seeing the big Gulf Oil sign in foul territory. Our seats were near the Gulf sign.
Just across the way, we could see Pesky’s Pole, down the right field line. And just off to our left, the infamous Citgo sign gleemed in the darkness.
A few notes from our night at Fenway:
- It was ‘tooth night.’ All patrons received a free tooth brush!
- The Red Sox were playing Kansas City.
- There were 37,001 fans in attendance that night and, unfortunately, the home team lost 9-3.
Oh, another funny story. There was a very vocal fan just below us (and to the right) who started out the night as a HUGE David Ortiz (a.k.a. “Big Papi”) fan. When Big Papi would come to bat, his fan would yell (in a pronounced northeastern accent) “Ayyyy Pah-peeee!”
But when Papi struck out in the fifth inning - his third straight empty at bat in the game - the tenor of his “big fan’s” greeting totally changed: “Pah-peee: YOU SUCK!”
An entire section of fans chuckled. Gotta love devoted fans! And truly, Red Sox fans are the best! They’re passionate; they’re very well-informed. And they’re good singers!
A few innings later, ALL fans joined in unison to sing the Neil Diamond anthem, “Sweet Caroline.” If you’ve seen the movie, “Fever Pitch” - or if you have attended a BoSox game - you know how the drill goes.
If not, you should watch that movie. It’s excellent. You might even say, it’s “so good, so good, SO GOOD!”
In fact, that’s how I would summarize our trip five summers ago. It was SO good.
If you are a baseball fan and you have NOT seen a game at Fenway Park, do yourself a favor: put it on your list and then make plans to check it off the list. You will be well-rewarded with an excellent experience and a memorable night.
JG
Originally posted 6/10/2012
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