Fenway Saved
I’m back, my apologies to the faithful readers (both of you) who have been waiting for me to write something for the past month. There just hasn’t been much to write about and I didn’t want to force it.
The Sox brass made it official the other day with the announcement that Fenway is going to be around for a while. This wasn’t a surprise; you don’t spend the kind of money they’ve spent in the last few years on a place you’re planning to move out of sometime in the near future. Unless of course, you’re planning on selling it and trying to increase the value, which we know would not have been the case here.
Anyway, I’m happy about it. I admit, there was a very brief time (right after my visit to Camden Yards in “96”) that I was ready to get rid of it. But like I said, it was very brief, and heavily influenced by what I saw in Baltimore. I quickly came to my senses though, it’s Fenway Park, how can we possibly get rid of it? I cannot even imagine a time when the Sox are not playing at Fenway.
It would be like the president not living in the White House, the Hall of Fame not being in Cooperstown, me not living on Perthshire Road.
Sure there are problems with it, location for one. The only T-stop next to it is the Green Line and the Kenmore bus terminal. They are trying to address this situation by trying to get the city to put something closer but I doubt it will happen. Parking is horrendous and, if you’re lucky enough to get a spot, expensive.
None of this is really a problem for me. I live very close to Fenway, 4.61 miles according to Mapquest (hey I do my research for my writing on this site, I don’t just start throwing stuff up here). I can hop on the bus at the bottom of my hill, and ride it right to the above bus terminal, which is about 100 yards from the park. If I choose to drive, I can get there early enough to get a space, and because I know the area very well, and I’m willing to walk a little, I can park for free if I want. Hell, for one of the Springsteen shows, I rode my bike in and locked it up in front of one of the BU apartment buildings with all of the other bikes.
Another big issue that is not a concern for me, there are a lot of seats where you can’t see the entire field because of poles, viewing angles and other things. Hey, in the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) age, if I’m at the game, I can record it, and if I miss something, I can see it when I get home.
They fixed the drainage problem on the field this off-season, they’ve made improvements to the clubhouses for the players, they’ve added all kinds of new food, I love what they did on Yawkey Way, and there are plans to improve the atmosphere and make the entire experience even better than it already is.
I really only have 2 issues with the old ball yard, there’s not enough fan seating, and the seats they have are too small. If they’re going to keep this place, I really hope they somehow figure out a way to get more seats in there. I’m talking about seats for the average fan. The Monster and the new Right Field roof seats are great, but they’re expensive and you have to be lucky to get them. They need about 10,000 more seats that can be had by the average fan that wants to go to a few games a year. They will be adding at least 3,600 and hopefully most of those will be for the average fan, and they figure out a way to increase that number.
As far as the existing seating goes, they’re just too small to fit my 6’2” frame comfortably for 3-4 hours. These are the 2 main reasons I only get over there a couple of times a year. Seats are tough to come by, tough on my wallet, and tough on my body.
Despite these problems, I’m glad we’re keeping it. Kyla’s been there every season since she was born (this year will be her 5th) and it’s great to know that she’ll have memories of a place she STILL goes to with her dad, as opposed to a place she used to go to. It’s a place that I’ve been going to all of my life and will continue to go to as well.
When Kyla’s older, I can show her the exact spot on the sidewalk that I spent 3 days of my life in 1986, while waiting in line for World Series tickets.
It’s always rated as the top, or one of the top, places to watch a ballgame by people who have been to a lot of ballparks, as it should be. The fans are right on top of the players (who seem to love that), and I don’t think there’s a park in the league where the tenth man effect comes into play more.
The atmosphere is great, inside and outside the park. It’s right in the middle of the city, which is one of the reasons for most of the problems, but is also one of the things that make it so charming.
Fenway Park is as much of an institution as the Red Sox themselves are. Many Sox fans, myself included, are as much Fenway fans as they are Sox fans. The owners have come up with many innovative ways to use the park to generate the revenue needed to keep it going and to keep putting a playoff caliber team on the field.
Hopefully there will be more to come and eventually it will become the place we all want and need it to be.
There’s too much history here to give up. Legends have played on this field. Legendary things have happened on this field. I know there are other parks no longer in existence that were able to make those same claims, but they’re gone now and Fenway is not. And besides, the one thing no other park can claim is that it’s the home of the greatest sports team in the entire universe.
LONG LIVE FENWAY!
The Sox brass made it official the other day with the announcement that Fenway is going to be around for a while. This wasn’t a surprise; you don’t spend the kind of money they’ve spent in the last few years on a place you’re planning to move out of sometime in the near future. Unless of course, you’re planning on selling it and trying to increase the value, which we know would not have been the case here.
Anyway, I’m happy about it. I admit, there was a very brief time (right after my visit to Camden Yards in “96”) that I was ready to get rid of it. But like I said, it was very brief, and heavily influenced by what I saw in Baltimore. I quickly came to my senses though, it’s Fenway Park, how can we possibly get rid of it? I cannot even imagine a time when the Sox are not playing at Fenway.
It would be like the president not living in the White House, the Hall of Fame not being in Cooperstown, me not living on Perthshire Road.
Sure there are problems with it, location for one. The only T-stop next to it is the Green Line and the Kenmore bus terminal. They are trying to address this situation by trying to get the city to put something closer but I doubt it will happen. Parking is horrendous and, if you’re lucky enough to get a spot, expensive.
None of this is really a problem for me. I live very close to Fenway, 4.61 miles according to Mapquest (hey I do my research for my writing on this site, I don’t just start throwing stuff up here). I can hop on the bus at the bottom of my hill, and ride it right to the above bus terminal, which is about 100 yards from the park. If I choose to drive, I can get there early enough to get a space, and because I know the area very well, and I’m willing to walk a little, I can park for free if I want. Hell, for one of the Springsteen shows, I rode my bike in and locked it up in front of one of the BU apartment buildings with all of the other bikes.
Another big issue that is not a concern for me, there are a lot of seats where you can’t see the entire field because of poles, viewing angles and other things. Hey, in the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) age, if I’m at the game, I can record it, and if I miss something, I can see it when I get home.
They fixed the drainage problem on the field this off-season, they’ve made improvements to the clubhouses for the players, they’ve added all kinds of new food, I love what they did on Yawkey Way, and there are plans to improve the atmosphere and make the entire experience even better than it already is.
I really only have 2 issues with the old ball yard, there’s not enough fan seating, and the seats they have are too small. If they’re going to keep this place, I really hope they somehow figure out a way to get more seats in there. I’m talking about seats for the average fan. The Monster and the new Right Field roof seats are great, but they’re expensive and you have to be lucky to get them. They need about 10,000 more seats that can be had by the average fan that wants to go to a few games a year. They will be adding at least 3,600 and hopefully most of those will be for the average fan, and they figure out a way to increase that number.
As far as the existing seating goes, they’re just too small to fit my 6’2” frame comfortably for 3-4 hours. These are the 2 main reasons I only get over there a couple of times a year. Seats are tough to come by, tough on my wallet, and tough on my body.
Despite these problems, I’m glad we’re keeping it. Kyla’s been there every season since she was born (this year will be her 5th) and it’s great to know that she’ll have memories of a place she STILL goes to with her dad, as opposed to a place she used to go to. It’s a place that I’ve been going to all of my life and will continue to go to as well.
When Kyla’s older, I can show her the exact spot on the sidewalk that I spent 3 days of my life in 1986, while waiting in line for World Series tickets.
It’s always rated as the top, or one of the top, places to watch a ballgame by people who have been to a lot of ballparks, as it should be. The fans are right on top of the players (who seem to love that), and I don’t think there’s a park in the league where the tenth man effect comes into play more.
The atmosphere is great, inside and outside the park. It’s right in the middle of the city, which is one of the reasons for most of the problems, but is also one of the things that make it so charming.
Fenway Park is as much of an institution as the Red Sox themselves are. Many Sox fans, myself included, are as much Fenway fans as they are Sox fans. The owners have come up with many innovative ways to use the park to generate the revenue needed to keep it going and to keep putting a playoff caliber team on the field.
Hopefully there will be more to come and eventually it will become the place we all want and need it to be.
There’s too much history here to give up. Legends have played on this field. Legendary things have happened on this field. I know there are other parks no longer in existence that were able to make those same claims, but they’re gone now and Fenway is not. And besides, the one thing no other park can claim is that it’s the home of the greatest sports team in the entire universe.
LONG LIVE FENWAY!
posted by Bob at 3/24/2005 10:01:00 AM
2 Comments:
You're back!
The thought of you off Perthshire is the ONLY thing more inconceivable than the Sox not playing in Fenway. I agree, let it be.
- Censy
Welcome back. You've been missed. You living anywhere but Perthshire would be like Sam Gamgee living outside the Shire. As for Fenway, I can't say that I'm either happy or surprised at the Club's decision. They're making every effort to get the most out of the ol' ballyard, but I'm solidly in the camp of those who want the Sox to have a new home.
By the way, thanks for not discussing the steroid issue. I'd much rather start talking about the coming season...
- Fenway Frank
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