Sports Travel: I’m Shipping Up to Boston
Written by Daniel Turner, Monday May 18 2009
Fenway Park is the last of a dying breed. The ballpark that opened on April 20, 1912 has few contemporaries. Only Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium remain as long standing original homes of their franchises and Chavez Ravine got a later start in the proceedings.
Like its Windy City counterpart Fenway was a long time morass of ruptured emotion. Instead of the loveable losers from Chicago the Red Sox seemed to fester in frustration; taking their nation of fans so close before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. After 4/5’s of a century of said frustration the dawning of the millennium brought about change in Fenway and an overwhelming sense of satisfaction from its nation. Instead of computers crashing, VCR’s rising up to extinguish those who dared to program them on December 31, 1999 and the economic system grinding to a halt because all financial records were deleted, the 21st century saw the end of the Bambino’s curse.
Pedro Martinez once said that if Babe Ruth were exhumed he would drill him in the ass. He never got the chance, but David Ortiz and the self proclaimed idiots toasted his demise with a shot of Jack Daniels and two World Series titles. Suddenly the balance of power shifted from NYC to Boston and anyone with knowledge realizes that the true rival now resides in Tampa.
No longer saddled with a feeling of what might have been the nation crowds the cramped, outmoded confines of Fenway and provide it with an instant sellout; not difficult considering it only holds 36,000 even if the maximum capacity differs by about 500 depending on if it is a day, or night game. Still, finding fans willing to pay $30.00 to stand on a fence is quite a feat.
Fenway ticket prices may have seemed high until the Yankees christened their new stadium with quadruple digit pricing. Now, Fenway seems like a bargain compared to pay what is required to stare at the 26 World Series Championships banner, even though those championships are fading rapidly in the mental rearview mirror they still demand much in the way of lucre.
As an ancient ballpark Fenway lacks those modern amenities that have become standard in new stadiums. For example, leg room is nonexistent proving that people back in 1912 were either shorter than us, or could fold themselves down when seated. Don’t go looking for any of those fancy, overpriced, hermitically sealed restaurants, either. While Fenway now boasts of “healthy options” in its food concourse, the majority is standard ballpark fare and, of course, clam chowder. The Absolut Lounge does cater to those who sit in the Dugout Section, but those tickets are sold out, so have some vodka before you arrive.
When the Standells sang, “I love your dirty water, oh Boston, you’re my home.” they could have been referring to the standing puddles that are in the dirty corridors in the bowels of Fenway. Winning changes attitudes, but there was a time when the home team disliked Fenway as much as the visitors. Pedro’s criticism of the facility may have been part of the decision to allow him to ply his trade in Queens.
It took the threat of condemnation to force vacating Boston Garden, so Fenway will stand as long as it stands. The quirks of the field’s layout and the fans being on top of each other and the playing surface are built in home field advantage, but beyond being a cathedral to the nation, if the Sox weren’t winners the place might be considered a dump.
Still, tradition is important in baseball, so a 37 foot high wall, a foul pole named after a player and a red seat are enough to bring a tear to the eye of any Red Sox fan. Since they also groove to Neil Diamond, don’t take their feelings as solid indicators, but not seeing at least one game in Fenway is a sure way to enter baseball purgatory when you shuffle off this mortal coil.
Prior to hitting the park make sure you stop at the Flagon ‘n Cask. A Drop Kick Murphy’s shirt or a Boston team jersey is pretty much required dress code. Yankee Stadium has Monument Park, but the Flagon ‘n Cask is decorated with visages of Red Sox greats and the beer is cold and plentiful. The nation gathers to discuss strategy before the games and after Fenway empties either reconvenes to celebrate or, these days, curse the Rays. Even with their natural rivals falling on less than illustrious times it is still a safe bet that shouting out “Go Yankees” will incur the wrath of your fellow patrons and I wouldn’t risk drinking the next pint you receive. One of my favorite Flagon ‘n Cask artifacts is the photo montage of Julia Ruth visiting the watering hole. She is, of course, a daughter of George Herman.
Since Red Sox games go on forever and the policy of Fenway is to stop the sale of beer 150 minutes after the start of the game, you may be better able to slake your thirst by spending the night at the bar and bypassing the park. Red Sox souvenirs are plentiful in Boston, so you can score a cap without risking not having a cold one when Big Papi ends his homerless streak.
Excuse my heresy and make sure you wander out of the pub at 62 Brookline and enter the stadium at 4 Yawkey Way. After all, it is unlikely you will run into Stephen King at the Flagon ‘n Cask, but there is a chance he will be at Fenway. Like Jack at Staples, the King of horror is a fixture at Fenway. However, these days the season doesn’t end as horribly as his tales of terror.
In fact the scary writing Dead Head has ditched his Yankee Hater cap for the traditional B. That provides further evidence that Cujo no longer wears pinstripes. As for those folks paying to stand on the Green Monster, the playoff picture appears clear and they sing to Sweet Caroline how good times never felt so good.
Photo Credit: Brian Jenkins / Icon SMI
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2 comments
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I also agree good article, but I have two corrections... 1) The bar is the Cask 'n Flagon (not the other way around) and 2) Fenway is not the original home of the Red Sox, they played at the Huntington Avenue Ballgrounds, on the other side of the neighborhood known as the Fenway (about a mile away) This was the home of the first World Series. The field is long gone, but a statue of Cy Young marks where the mound once was and there is an area that reminds people where home plate was....
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Nice column, but one correction. The Tampa Bay Rays do not, nor have they ever played in "Tampa". I know I'm coming across as nit-picky, but it is a very, very sore subject down here. Last year, TBS actually showed on its graphic "Tampa" as the locator. The reason it's such a sore subject is because Tropicana Field (Florida Suncoast Dome when it was built) cost the taxpayers of St. Petersburg a big increase on property taxes to pay for it. Moreover, St. Petersburg, unlike that city across the bay whose name sounds like a feminine hygiene product is much richer in baseball history and tradition. Spring training got its start here thanks to the first mayor of St. Pete, Al Lang. Again, Mr. Turner, I am not damning you. I do however get quite pissed off when the morons at ESPN, TBS and Fox can't get it right. St. Pete is as equal as Tampa. They have the airport, we have the MLB team and miles of beaches on this side of the bay. I just wish people would get it right. This is not the same thing as saying the Cowboys play in Dallas (back when they still played at Texas Stadium) because Irving, Texas is so much smaller. As for the rest of your column, going to Fenway Park is on my sports fantasy list of to-do. I think maybe next year it could happen. We'll see. :)