| Play ball! |
Summer can mean only one thing: baseball. Here we celebrate and document our 2008 pilgrimage.
Come along, won't you? |
Previous Posts |
|
| Archives |
|
| Places to Visit |
|
|
|
| The Cell |
posted by Shalar @ 12:23 PM   |
| Monday, June 16, 2008 |
I meant to mention that the parks we've visited this year don't have as good nicknames as last year. Last year we saw The Bank, The Yard, etc. This year there have been a couple that don't lend themselves as well to a pithy name. Apparently at first they tried to gear up enthusiasm for Comerica Park to be called "CoPa" but it never caught on for obvious reasons, that sounds stupid. So they just mostly call it Comerica, in the Fenway tradition of just not bothering to say "Park." SkyDome is not really the SkyDome anymore since Rogers Communications bought the naming rights and it's officially "Rogers Centre." It's too bad because the name Skydome was coined by a fan in a naming contest in 1987. It seems to be most people still refer to it as that anyway. I saw the Toronto Raptors play there in like 1996, by the way. PNC is short enough already.
"The Cell," however, or US Cellular Field, has a pretty decent nickname. Our experience there started out really well when we cautiously parked in a lot that seemed official (had signs for "event parking" that were not spray-painted on pieces of plywood but real signs. But there was no price and no attendant. We parked in the shade and just felt uneasy because it seemed too good to be true - we were within sight of the park, a few blocks away. We asked some people who were there too and they said they thought it was okay, they'd done it before and it was fine. So this may be the best-kept parking secret for the White Sox. Email us privately if you plan to visit the Cell and want the scoop, we're not gonna print the location. ;)
After being accosted by several homeless people on the way in, we got inside the park and I immediately got in line to get some of that yummy corn off the cob that Steph and Brad introduced me to last time we went there.  It tastes better than it looks. You can get salt, butter, lime, parmesan cheese, red pepper, and/or mayonnaise mixed into it, oh yummy.
The White Sox were playing the Rockies Sunday and I was relieved to see that my favorite former White Sock, Scott Podsednik (look up his photo and you will see why he was my favorite, oh, and of course, he was a very important offensive power for the White Sox during their World Series run and all), was in the lineup for the Rockies, where he landed this season. Here is Pods at bat.  The White Sox fans were very supportive of him, probably because it's not like HE chose to leave them or anything. He'd been scuffling (that's for you, Ed!) and on the DL quite a bit, and the Rockies took him for their minor league team but now he's back in the big leagues. Lots of White Sox fans still wearing Podsednik jerseys too.
I really like The Cell - I wish, though, I had been able to go to (Old) Comiskey Park, upon whose parking lot the Cell was built (The Cell's parking lot is where Comiskey used to stand). US Cellular has been open since 1991. Actually, it was still called Comiskey when it opened until 2003 when US Cellular bought the naming rights, but I would have liked to have seen the old park. I remember when I went there the first time I was going to my seat and hadn't looked at the field because I felt I had to concentrate on navigating the super steep rows of seats. But when we got to our seats I turned around and was amazed at how pretty it was. It was at night and it looked gorgeous and green and I was already happy with the place because it had escalators. This was a day game, and it was still a very nice-looking park. Something new this season is this bronze and granite sculpture outside in the center of a brick plaza that celebrates the 2005 season and depicts Paul Konerko, Joe Crede, Orlando Hernandez, Geoff Blum, and Juan Uribe. 
We sat next to another Cubs fan who was trying to remain undercover. I couldn't quite shake this odd feeling that I was out of my element because I wasn't in Wrigleyville. On the way out we followed some people decked out in full Cubs gear which I think is a little weird, it's not like the Cubs were playing there that day. The Sox lost 5-3 but it was a nice, hot afternoon in Chicago. It had stormed quite a bit earlier in the day and some suburbs were out of power and had some tree damage. After picking up my car at a Midway parking lot, we went to the hotel then met friends for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, which was awesome. It's been nice to have some down time.
Off to my home (Davenport), to drop off my car, visit my lonely kitty, and make a quick Bettendorf library stop. We might try to stay somewhere tonight close to the Field of Dreams so we could visit it Tuesday on the way to Minneapolis. But our plans are always fluid so don't hold us to anything, readers. Before heading home I need to make an important detour to Oakbrook Center to pick up a little birthday gift they have for special customers of Sephora. I can't believe tomorrow I have to start saying I'm 39. |
|
| 3 Comments: |
-
But, but, but... your photo doesn't show Scottie's best part!!!
-
Yes, a ballpark nickname that sends a Barry Manilow song into your head is probably not a good thing. "At the CoPa..." (Almost as bad as "Sister Christian." "Motorin'..." Right, Kris?)
I was fortunate enough to go to the old Comiskey back in my college days. It was old and it wasn't in good shape, but it had an air of faded grandeur about it. Went to the new Comiskey in May of 1991; we sat in the upper deck and it was like watching the game from a neighboring skyscraper.
Some Metrodome nicknames here in Minneapolis: the Hump (full name is the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome), the Humptydome, the Rollerdome, the Homerdome, Thunderdome. Or: the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Stadium. Most people, though, just call it the Dome.
Not much in the way of exotic food fare here. Stick with the hot dogs and beer (or soft drinks, if that's how you roll).
If you have time, you can visit the site of the future Twins stadium, set to open in 2010. The big iron is starting to go up now. It's on the other side of downtown from the Dome; for directions, just ask, "Which way to the trash burner?" It's between the Hennepin County incinerator and the Target Center, where the T-wolves play.
-
On a serious note: If you're driving through Iowa, beware of closed roads because of flooding...
http://www.511ia.org/
|
| |
| << Home |
| |
|
|
|
But, but, but... your photo doesn't show Scottie's best part!!!