"Take Me Out to Wrigley Field"
It's been over ten years, but I finally made it back to Wrigley Field last year to watch a game with my youngest son. Walking from the Red Line "L" stop, I prepared myself for the worst: hoards of frat-boys guzzling beer, businessmen with their Blackberries in hand and tourists from the far far west suburbs. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by how genuine the place still seemed, with its emphasis on the actual game of baseball and the nitty-gritty people who make their living there.
To give some context to this review, I have to reveal that just a week beforehand, I had taken my other son to a Cardinals game in St. Louis. Yes, the stadium was beautiful, family-friendly and spacious, the parking was a breeze, the tickets reasonably priced, the vendors outright glad to see us (it was early in the season, but hey, how many times have you been given a free bag of peanuts by a ballpark vendor?). Yes, there was an impressive display of fireworks after each home run. And yes, there was a vast array of digitized graphics everywhere we looked (scoreboard, billboards, etc.). Yet somehow, when compared with Wrigley, the new Busch stadium just somehow lacked soul, even after taking into account its newness.
At Wrigley, where there's an actual guy still manually changing the stats, the scoreboard never breaks (like it did at Busch the day we were there....um...how many outs are there??). At Wrigley, even the cheapest seats seem right on top of the action (at the new Busch, you almost have to have binoculars to see who is at bat when in the upper terrace seats). OK, so there's no way a vendor at Wrigley would ever consider throwing my son a free bag of peanuts, but then every vendor I saw had some kind of personal relationship to other folks in the park: other vendors, ushers, players or fans. The guys (and a few gals) seemed to be a natural extension of their environment. It was great to watch them jostle and poke fun at each other. In fact, without a glitzy mascot or ball girls distracting me, I really got a feeling that what made Wrigley so authentic was what you couldn't see: the energy between real live human beings. And the history of years and years of this kind of thing.
During the seventh-inning stretch, the whole crowd, and I mean everyone, sang "Take Me Out to the Ballpark." And they didn't just mouth the words either — they sang it with feeling. In St. Louis, people didn't even bother to mouth the words. Yeah, a few parents sang for the benefit of the kids, but there was a marked lack of enthusiasm. Take me back to Wrigley Field anytime, with the broken seats, peeling paint and outrageous parking and ticket prices. Busch stadium, I throw you back.
4 comments
I thought this was a really good piece. It says a lot in just a few paragraphs. Makes me want to go up to Wrigley Field.
One of my earliest memories is my Dad taking me (age 4) to Wrigley Field for my first Cubs game. The view atop his shoulders as we came up the ramp and caught a glimpse of the field for the first time is burned into my memory. That place is sanctuary.
Elaine Iliff
Wonderful piece. It is an experience that is not easily explained.
cardsfan
I find this thinly veiled partisan piece to be misleading. Sure, Wrigley can be a great place to see a ballgame. There’s a lot of history in those grounds. The neighborhood is full of character, etc. You will also see beer guzzling frat boys (as you will in St. Louis to some extent as well). Side note, what is wrong with west side tourists? Aren’t you just a far south side tourist?
What you fail to mention is the decrepit infrastructure of the “friendly confines”, the obstructed view seating, the long lines (often fostering violence) to the restrooms, and the awful (understatement) food. Busch III has, for the most part, wonderful sightlines, space to breathe and move, decent albeit overpriced food, accessible bathrooms. Yes, the upper decks are lofty. Chalk that up to the increased capacity and aforementioned space to breathe and move.
The part of this article that struck me the most was the “lack of soul” statement. Perhaps it is because I am a Cardinal fan, but I find the soul in Busch Stadium to come from the great tradition of baseball in St. Louis, the knowledge and spirit of the fans, and the heart and performance of the team. Yes, the stadium does not pre-date our last World Series Championship (sorry, had to get that one in) or The Great Depression. So, it’s not old. Methinks you may have just been selectively looking for certain things in both parks while choosing to ignore other things.
Enter more random team obsessed rants (troll-like or otherwise) now . . .
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Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
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hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.