Sunday Night May 10th BMack accompanied me to my first game at Fenway park where the Red Sox faced off against those crazy Tampa Rays. We got to the park about 4 hours early but to tell you the truth that turns out to be half the fun. I really like how Fenway has all the bars and restaurants surrounding it instead of having them overpriced and inside the stadium. Obviously the inside is so old and old fashioned that they couldn't fit anyway but it was really cool that we could hit up lunch and booze before the game so early. After hitting up Game On and going across the street to the other place I can't remember the name of, we went and checked out Fenway's newest bar...The Bleacher Bar. The Bleacher Bar is probably the coolest pre-game bar ever. The place itself isn't huge but its the former center field batting cages, so what the bar did is keep the garage door as a huge window into ground level center field. Poundin' back some budlights and watchin' batting practice on the field was rockin. We just stood there and drank for a good hour or so...definitely worth checking out next time you go.
About 15mins to gametime we enter the mob that is the Fenway corridors. It's impossible to hate on the way the stadium is shaped and sized because of how old it is and still I was surprised at how moving around with all those people wasn't difficult. I thought it was pretty awesome how even though your inside the stadium, basically its just a wall and no roof; It felt historic and I appreciated it hasn't been changed. Beers in the stadium run $7.50...not bad. Funny that the Bud Light line was double in length then the Coors light line; and the 'pourers' assume your always getting 2 beers...w/e its all good.
Bmack and I sat in Right Field section 90. After all the talk about how hard and expensive it is to get Sox ticks I guess I got lucky finding these on StubHub for $23 each vs. the Rays? The seats were great. Unlike in my review of the new Yankee Stadium, I was very very happy to be able to see the entire field. Your first view of the Green Monster is pretty sick; looking at it just makes you want to take BP from third base and giggle everytime you can't clear it.
The atmosphere of Fenway is really cool. Its nice being in a stadium that is completely full. Although not a big deal, It was pretty silly sitting in the middle of our row and having to ask 10 people to stand up everytime we needed a beer or to shake the snake. And speaking about the bathrooms...MY GOODNESS. This may sound dumb that I strongly feel the need to point this out but fellas, the clockwork of the guys bathroom gets an A+ in my book. After the numerous beers we took down throughout the night, trips to the john were frequent and we never had to wait more than 10 seconds. In, out, in, out (no homo) the guys bathroom is no joke with its efficiency. Ladies, sorry but your line was out the door, around the corner and up the street...not my problem.
After a scare in the ninth, Papelbon put the game away and to the joy of Red Sox nation it was high fives all around. Besides the group of English people sitting to our right who left in a 7th inning tie game (and obviously know nothing about baseball), about 85% of the stadium stayed until the end of the game. It definitely helps fans stay with the amount of public transportation available post game. We left the game, hopped on the outbound D line along with a couple thousand others (not from lost; which by the way was amazing last night), and got home no problemo. Fenway Grade listed below. I still owe a Citi Field review; I'll be on it soon...some Mets fan I am.
Fenway Park: A "The atmosphere, the packed house, the Green Monster, the transportation, a great time overall"
New Yankee Stadium: D "They messed up...bad"
Old Yankee Stadium: B+ "Fans loved it; history; had a special atmosphere" (Upgraded from "B" in previous review)
Citi Field: A- "Extremely fan-friendly, looks amazing, needs more orange"
Shea Stadium: D- "The stadium sucked but Shea has a place in a true Mets fan's heart...sure, call us gay like that"
No comments:
Post a Comment