FENWAY EXPERIENCE

Boston, or New England for that matter, can be a tricky place to reside. Obviously, the taxes, the liberals and the weather can damper our beautiful cities, towns and landmarks. Despite all the troubles, we have a great sports town. Never mind the fact the Patriots and Red Sox charge more than any other in their respected leagues per games, we are still a great sports town. Actually, the best, if you follow the past few yearly issues of the Sporting News sports city of the year.
Though you'd be much more likely to see my mug at a Celtics game (10 dollar seats), I do head into Fenway a couple times a year. I even attend Bruins and Patriots games when I can, though the latter it's nearly impossible to get tickets.
In any case, I attended the Braves/Red Sox game on Sunday, May 20th. All week it rained in Boston, causing double headers on the prior Thursday and Saturday. Sunday's game was no different.
The usual trip down 93 to Storrow Drive took much longer than usual. I was fortunate enough to park in the old abandoned garage behind RemDog's at Gate D. After some time at the souvenir shop on Yawkey Way, we headed up tp our precious seats in the grandstand. Grudgingly, the good old days of good beer have passed; only Bud Light was served, except for the Guinness/Harp stand (who really wants to sip Guinness at a ball game/ good ole' New England brew is yearned for.
The starting time (2pm) eclipsed without word on the game. Very unorganized and uncommunicative for a fan friendly ownership. In any case, a delay was evident. The tarp was on the field and everyone waited patiently. Why not, the beer was flowing along with Fenway Franks and sausages. The crowd on Who's On First? was seemingly chugging good beers as they waited out the delay on Yawkey Way. Luckily, our seats in the grandstand give us shelter from the violent wind and rain. The fans seeked refuge where ever possible, while some battled on with a raincoat in gear.
Finally, after at least an hour's wait, the man behind the loudspeaker said the game would proceed soon, as the weather was set to clear up.
Fast forward 90 more minutes, bringing the delay to 2& 1/2 hours, the tarp was eventually off the field. Youngster Kason Gabbard opposed National League ERA leader Tim Hudson. The Sox scored early and often, highlighted by a base clearing triple for Varitek, a Hinske RBI single and a Youkilis home run. The Sox marinated a big lead en route to a 6-3 win. The bullpen struggled a bit, no big deal considering guys like Okajima and Papelbon were forced to pitch in garbage time, due to their need of work before the upcoming NY series.
Well, the game was great. The Sox won, pounding a perennial NL favorite Braves club.The atmosphere is untouched by any other. The pigeons flew overhead, the ignorant and annoying vendors hawking up and down the staircase. The annoying Sweet Caroline rendition, the top of the 5th Fenway wave, the marriage proposal and birthday wishes on the giant scoreboard, the late inning drunk fans, the peanut shells distributed on the floor serving as a nice brownish mat, the Manny haters/lovers, the fluid "Youk" chants, the Wild Thing intro for Paps and the blind umpire jokes. Some fans, including I, were a bit surprised the beer vendors shut down early, in the 5th inning as opposed to the 7th. I guess the delay had something to do with it, but it should have been noted for the fans who purchase their one and only brew in the later innings.
Though I'm a realist, it's still difficult to accept the prices:
Small diet coke bottle $3.25, peanuts $4.00, papa gino's indi. pizza $5.00, Wally dolls $25, pretzels $3.35, cotton candy $4.00, tiny poland spring water bottles $ 3.25, hot dogs $4.00, 16 oz. bud light cups $7.00. I want even write the astronomical prices of the soft serve ice cream cones and apparel souvenirs. I guess it's all part of the "Fenway Experience" i.e. the current ownership expanding their revenues to the fullest. It just seems wrong, how can a family of five expect to afford that, even for just one game. The parking, tickets, food and souvenirs can set one back hundreds of dollars.
Well the Sox won. The game started at 4:40 opposed to 2 and ended at 7:30 instead of 5. The bottom line was the team played well and won. It was a good experience.