Yesterday’s activities were exhausting. I thought I would try to write a quick note about our baseball excursion when I arrived back at the hotel room last night, but we didn’t hit the couch until about 12:45 am, and I was grimy and zombie-like. The only activities that interested me at that point were a shower and sleep. I remember Marc taking a shower after me, but I don’t remember him finishing his shower or coming to bed. I was totally drained.
We decided to brave the Boston subway system yesterday, and overall, I think we managed the program pretty well. We drove to the closest T station (Alewife), parked the Jeep in their garage, and boarded the red line. We took the red line far enough in to switch to the green line and landed downtown at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. Now, as cool a place as it was, Marc was sure to let us know that it would never measure close in coolness to the original Boston Garden (which was located 9 inches south of the present TD Garden) since that was where the legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird played. Still worth touring and investigating, though. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and fairly friendly, but she didn’t allow us much time for photographs except at the designated photo stations. We met a family from Asheville who saw Jordan’s Gaffney shirt and asked us where we were from, so we connected with some hometown folks for a little bit of the tour.
Highlights of the tour were definitely the stories about the teams and people who have played there. First, we learned that the owners of the Bruins own the arena, so the Bruins get top billing over the Celtics. We also learned how they create the ice rink for the hockey team by layering 3 sets of 1/4 inch ice on top of each other with the 2nd layer holding the paint and designs. Then, they put the parquet floor for the basketball games over the top of the ice. Cooling jets below the arena keep the ice frozen. Also, the Bruins don’t use Zambonis. Our tour guide told us Zamboni was a brand name and that the Bruins are the only team to use Olympia ice machines (so don’t call them Zambonis). One fascinating tidbit was the elephant gate – TD Garden has a special gate for the circus elephants to come in since they are too big for an elevator and obviously can’t climb the steps. The boys had the opportunity to touch a real Celtics backboard and net that was folded up in the back storage area, and we walked out onto the arena floor to see what the place looks like empty. We toured the opposing teams’ lockers rooms and saw where both teams from both sports enter the arena. The opposing teams’ locker rooms are deliberately sparse and cramped; our tour guide said that the Boston teams intended to make their guests as uncomfortable as possible so they could have psychological advantage over them. They have one large locker for the opposing basketball team’s one star so he can talk to the press without bothering the other players. The tour guide told us that they call that the “LeBron locker” because it is “big enough to hold both of his egos.” But I think Beyonce must be the one with the big ego. Our tour guide also told us that the opposing team’s locker room serves as the dressing room for musicians when they have concerts at TD Garden, and when the Queen B was there, she had them put up special wallpaper for her, tear up the existing carpet & put down carpet she wanted, set up curtains for various changing areas, and then put everything back like it was when the concert was over. I can’t imagine that kind of money and privilege and power.
We boarded the green train again and headed to Kenmore station where we would find the legendary Fenway Park. Here is why we came – just about the only reason Jordan and Joel agreed to come with us at all. We exited the train, took a left onto Brookline, crossed a bridge, and saw the stadium just over the bridge, standing there in reality as we had imagined it so many times before. Our tour of Fenway began at 2 pm, so we had time for lunch, which meant we had to find a Fenway favorite – some local restaurant right around the ball park where fans would hang out. We chose Game On, a sports bar right at the base of the field. Jordan ate an entire pizza, and Marc, Joel, and I ate our personal favorite sandwiches with homemade potato chips. We definitely enjoyed the food, but we enjoyed the atmosphere so much more – the place was filled with tv screens showing Red Sox highlights and ESPN’s pregame programming for their coverage of the Red Sox on Monday Night Baseball. After leaving the restaurant, we began our trek around the field, looking for an open Will Call station to pick up our tour tickets. Jordan is convinced we passed the player entrance because security guards lined the opening where certain cars were allowed in to a garage at the base of the stadium and other cars were parked with less than an inch of space between them on the roadside surrounding the garage entrance.
We met our tour guide at the Red Sox team store on Yawkey Way right outside of Gate A (Marc said our tour guide might have been a player for the Benchwarmers, but he was very friendly and obviously loved the Red Sox, so we liked him so much better than the guide at TD Garden). In fact, I am almost willing to say that the employees at TD Garden understand that they will always be second place to Fenway and the Red Sox because everyone we met at Fenway seemed to love the Red Sox and was totally comfortable promoting their city, their team, and baseball in general. He took us all around the stadium and allowed us to see the field from nearly every angle. Some Detroit Tigers took batting practice as we watched, and we saw the manager of the Tigers, Brad Ausmus, talking with the general manager of the Tigers, Dave Dombrosky, right near the dug out. Sitting on the Green Monster was, of course, the highlight of the tour, the part everyone wanted to experience. While we sat up there, the Detroit pitcher who is famous for living in his van was fielding batting practice, and he threw a ball up to a little boy on the Monster while we sat up there. Fenway is truly a magical place; everyone knows it, and no one even tries to be cool enough to be above being wowed by the legends of Fenway. One of the most interesting stories we heard was that Yawkey Way is named for an owner of the Red Sox who practically saved the park and the team from financial ruin when they bought the team during the Depression. Mr. Yawkey just happened to be from South Carolina. SC in the house! Of course, a South Carolina baseball fan would be the one to save the legendary park and build it into the magical place it is today. In fact, Mrs. Yawkey was the one who picked the “Dartmouth Green” for the Monster. We were quite proud of our SC connection to the stadium. The story of the one red seat in the outfield is priceless, too. We learned that the longest homerun in Red Sox history was hit by Ted Williams, and it hit a fan who was relaxing in the outfield. The ball nailed his straw hat, left a gaping hole, and afterward, he allegedly asked the question, “Where do I have to sit to be safe here?” So, the team painted the seat directly behind him red to commemorate the distance one needs to be safe from a homerun ball at Fenway Park. Also, Fenway officials have turned an empty space at the stadium into Fenway Farms where they grow all their own vegetables that they use for food at the park. Socially conscious and productive – what a great precedent. Finally, our tour guide told us that at 100 years old, Fenway was assigned to the National Historical Register, so no one will be tearing it down now. In fact, I was impressed by the way the current owners make sure that any renovations are modern but retain the nostalgic look and keep the Fenway ambiance.
In between the tour and the game, we had a little time, so we wondered down the neighborhood to Wahlburgers in hopes of finding my sister a t-shirt, but they didn’t have her size, so we wondered around some more, taking in the growing Red Sox crowd as they showed up ready for the game. I have to say, however, that I was also impressed by how many Detroit Tigers fans attended, too.
Yawkey Way is alive before and after the game with live bands and food vendors and people selling programs. A guy selling peanuts of all sorts (salted or unsalted, hot or raw, etc.) wore a dangling peanut earring in his left ear. If I could have figured out a way of taking his photo without his thinking I was making fun of him, I would have done it. Definitely a character. Once we were in our seats, other seats filled quickly. If the game were not sold out, it had to be close because I saw very few empty seats. And people do not leave Fenway early; in fact, last night’s game was one of the few MLB games I have witnessed where people stayed put to watch the game and paid close attention to the game and preferred ordering food and drinks from the traveling food sales people who walk the stadium throughout the game. I enjoyed a Fenway Frank, which pleasantly surprised me – it was a thick frank, larger than the ones I buy in the grocery store, and it was surrounded by a soft bun made almost like a piece of bread with the crust around the top and the bottom. The mustard was a tad softer than traditional French’s mustard, and I totally enjoyed my dinner. We had great seats not far behind first base but under the cover of the top bleachers, so we enjoyed shade and a clear view.
The fans lose their minds every time Big Papi comes to bat, but why wouldn’t they? He is a great hero for baseball and for Boston, and with this being his last year in MLB, everyone wants to show him how much we appreciate him. He went 1-4 last night, but his last at bat included a huge hit off the Green Monster, so we left happy, even though the Sox lost 4-2. Our other star, Jackie Bradley, Jr., had a fabulous night. He went 2 for 3, scored the team’s first run on a strong run from first when the player following him hit a double to right. We watched him stop a runner in his tracks at third base when JBJ caught the fly ball and laced it back to the pitcher so fast, the guy on third had no chance to run home. JBJ is having a great year at Boston, but of course, he should – he is a Gamecock star. We, of course, wore our Gamecock apparel in support of him. One guy at Wahlburgers had the nerve to ask me what CS meant. I made sure to tell him my shirt was SC for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Also, Jordan was totally afraid that I would embarrass him like I embarrassed by Kansas City friends by shouting “Go Cocks” when JBJ came to bat. I didn’t have to; three times while we were walking around Fenway, some other Bostonian (or a Yankee at least) saw me and shouted, “Go Cocks!”. So, I had to respond with “Go Cocks!”. Thumb and pinky shake included. The best part of the night for me was singing “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth inning, though. Everyone stood and sang, and when the music dropped away, our voices carried on through the stadium: “Bomm, bomm, bomm…” and “So good, so good, so good.” Exactly the moment I had been waiting for since I saw Fever Pitch the first time. Oh yeah, we looked for Ben’s seats, too, and I think we found them. And our conversation all night was filled with random lines from the movie as appropriate.
Leaving Fenway, there were as many people partying as before the game. Thousands of people headed to Kenmore station along with us, and we stood nearly suffocating in the entrance way to Kenmore. Joel even commented that he had a small taste of what Holocaust victims must have felt as they were being herded around. Marc said he didn’t know if he would make it from the stifling heat and bodies pressed so closely to each other. We faced similar crowds in Chicago when we left Wrigley Field, but the train was closer, and people pushed onto the trains much more fiercely than in Boston. In Boston, everyone was polite but slowly moved to the train. I believe Atlanta has a much easier program for transporting crowds to and from the game, but they are getting ready to mess that up when they move the stadium again.
Finally, we made it back to Alewife station and then back to our hotel in Lexington – exhausted, yet fulfilled. A night at Fenway alone was worth the drive from South Carolina; I am so grateful I had the opportunity to share this moment with Marc, Jordan, and Joel. I hope they carry this memory in their hearts and tell the story of their night at Fenway to their children one day.
We decided to brave the Boston subway system yesterday, and overall, I think we managed the program pretty well. We drove to the closest T station (Alewife), parked the Jeep in their garage, and boarded the red line. We took the red line far enough in to switch to the green line and landed downtown at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. Now, as cool a place as it was, Marc was sure to let us know that it would never measure close in coolness to the original Boston Garden (which was located 9 inches south of the present TD Garden) since that was where the legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird played. Still worth touring and investigating, though. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and fairly friendly, but she didn’t allow us much time for photographs except at the designated photo stations. We met a family from Asheville who saw Jordan’s Gaffney shirt and asked us where we were from, so we connected with some hometown folks for a little bit of the tour.
Highlights of the tour were definitely the stories about the teams and people who have played there. First, we learned that the owners of the Bruins own the arena, so the Bruins get top billing over the Celtics. We also learned how they create the ice rink for the hockey team by layering 3 sets of 1/4 inch ice on top of each other with the 2nd layer holding the paint and designs. Then, they put the parquet floor for the basketball games over the top of the ice. Cooling jets below the arena keep the ice frozen. Also, the Bruins don’t use Zambonis. Our tour guide told us Zamboni was a brand name and that the Bruins are the only team to use Olympia ice machines (so don’t call them Zambonis). One fascinating tidbit was the elephant gate – TD Garden has a special gate for the circus elephants to come in since they are too big for an elevator and obviously can’t climb the steps. The boys had the opportunity to touch a real Celtics backboard and net that was folded up in the back storage area, and we walked out onto the arena floor to see what the place looks like empty. We toured the opposing teams’ lockers rooms and saw where both teams from both sports enter the arena. The opposing teams’ locker rooms are deliberately sparse and cramped; our tour guide said that the Boston teams intended to make their guests as uncomfortable as possible so they could have psychological advantage over them. They have one large locker for the opposing basketball team’s one star so he can talk to the press without bothering the other players. The tour guide told us that they call that the “LeBron locker” because it is “big enough to hold both of his egos.” But I think Beyonce must be the one with the big ego. Our tour guide also told us that the opposing team’s locker room serves as the dressing room for musicians when they have concerts at TD Garden, and when the Queen B was there, she had them put up special wallpaper for her, tear up the existing carpet & put down carpet she wanted, set up curtains for various changing areas, and then put everything back like it was when the concert was over. I can’t imagine that kind of money and privilege and power.
We boarded the green train again and headed to Kenmore station where we would find the legendary Fenway Park. Here is why we came – just about the only reason Jordan and Joel agreed to come with us at all. We exited the train, took a left onto Brookline, crossed a bridge, and saw the stadium just over the bridge, standing there in reality as we had imagined it so many times before. Our tour of Fenway began at 2 pm, so we had time for lunch, which meant we had to find a Fenway favorite – some local restaurant right around the ball park where fans would hang out. We chose Game On, a sports bar right at the base of the field. Jordan ate an entire pizza, and Marc, Joel, and I ate our personal favorite sandwiches with homemade potato chips. We definitely enjoyed the food, but we enjoyed the atmosphere so much more – the place was filled with tv screens showing Red Sox highlights and ESPN’s pregame programming for their coverage of the Red Sox on Monday Night Baseball. After leaving the restaurant, we began our trek around the field, looking for an open Will Call station to pick up our tour tickets. Jordan is convinced we passed the player entrance because security guards lined the opening where certain cars were allowed in to a garage at the base of the stadium and other cars were parked with less than an inch of space between them on the roadside surrounding the garage entrance.
We met our tour guide at the Red Sox team store on Yawkey Way right outside of Gate A (Marc said our tour guide might have been a player for the Benchwarmers, but he was very friendly and obviously loved the Red Sox, so we liked him so much better than the guide at TD Garden). In fact, I am almost willing to say that the employees at TD Garden understand that they will always be second place to Fenway and the Red Sox because everyone we met at Fenway seemed to love the Red Sox and was totally comfortable promoting their city, their team, and baseball in general. He took us all around the stadium and allowed us to see the field from nearly every angle. Some Detroit Tigers took batting practice as we watched, and we saw the manager of the Tigers, Brad Ausmus, talking with the general manager of the Tigers, Dave Dombrosky, right near the dug out. Sitting on the Green Monster was, of course, the highlight of the tour, the part everyone wanted to experience. While we sat up there, the Detroit pitcher who is famous for living in his van was fielding batting practice, and he threw a ball up to a little boy on the Monster while we sat up there. Fenway is truly a magical place; everyone knows it, and no one even tries to be cool enough to be above being wowed by the legends of Fenway. One of the most interesting stories we heard was that Yawkey Way is named for an owner of the Red Sox who practically saved the park and the team from financial ruin when they bought the team during the Depression. Mr. Yawkey just happened to be from South Carolina. SC in the house! Of course, a South Carolina baseball fan would be the one to save the legendary park and build it into the magical place it is today. In fact, Mrs. Yawkey was the one who picked the “Dartmouth Green” for the Monster. We were quite proud of our SC connection to the stadium. The story of the one red seat in the outfield is priceless, too. We learned that the longest homerun in Red Sox history was hit by Ted Williams, and it hit a fan who was relaxing in the outfield. The ball nailed his straw hat, left a gaping hole, and afterward, he allegedly asked the question, “Where do I have to sit to be safe here?” So, the team painted the seat directly behind him red to commemorate the distance one needs to be safe from a homerun ball at Fenway Park. Also, Fenway officials have turned an empty space at the stadium into Fenway Farms where they grow all their own vegetables that they use for food at the park. Socially conscious and productive – what a great precedent. Finally, our tour guide told us that at 100 years old, Fenway was assigned to the National Historical Register, so no one will be tearing it down now. In fact, I was impressed by the way the current owners make sure that any renovations are modern but retain the nostalgic look and keep the Fenway ambiance.
In between the tour and the game, we had a little time, so we wondered down the neighborhood to Wahlburgers in hopes of finding my sister a t-shirt, but they didn’t have her size, so we wondered around some more, taking in the growing Red Sox crowd as they showed up ready for the game. I have to say, however, that I was also impressed by how many Detroit Tigers fans attended, too.
Yawkey Way is alive before and after the game with live bands and food vendors and people selling programs. A guy selling peanuts of all sorts (salted or unsalted, hot or raw, etc.) wore a dangling peanut earring in his left ear. If I could have figured out a way of taking his photo without his thinking I was making fun of him, I would have done it. Definitely a character. Once we were in our seats, other seats filled quickly. If the game were not sold out, it had to be close because I saw very few empty seats. And people do not leave Fenway early; in fact, last night’s game was one of the few MLB games I have witnessed where people stayed put to watch the game and paid close attention to the game and preferred ordering food and drinks from the traveling food sales people who walk the stadium throughout the game. I enjoyed a Fenway Frank, which pleasantly surprised me – it was a thick frank, larger than the ones I buy in the grocery store, and it was surrounded by a soft bun made almost like a piece of bread with the crust around the top and the bottom. The mustard was a tad softer than traditional French’s mustard, and I totally enjoyed my dinner. We had great seats not far behind first base but under the cover of the top bleachers, so we enjoyed shade and a clear view.
The fans lose their minds every time Big Papi comes to bat, but why wouldn’t they? He is a great hero for baseball and for Boston, and with this being his last year in MLB, everyone wants to show him how much we appreciate him. He went 1-4 last night, but his last at bat included a huge hit off the Green Monster, so we left happy, even though the Sox lost 4-2. Our other star, Jackie Bradley, Jr., had a fabulous night. He went 2 for 3, scored the team’s first run on a strong run from first when the player following him hit a double to right. We watched him stop a runner in his tracks at third base when JBJ caught the fly ball and laced it back to the pitcher so fast, the guy on third had no chance to run home. JBJ is having a great year at Boston, but of course, he should – he is a Gamecock star. We, of course, wore our Gamecock apparel in support of him. One guy at Wahlburgers had the nerve to ask me what CS meant. I made sure to tell him my shirt was SC for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Also, Jordan was totally afraid that I would embarrass him like I embarrassed by Kansas City friends by shouting “Go Cocks” when JBJ came to bat. I didn’t have to; three times while we were walking around Fenway, some other Bostonian (or a Yankee at least) saw me and shouted, “Go Cocks!”. So, I had to respond with “Go Cocks!”. Thumb and pinky shake included. The best part of the night for me was singing “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth inning, though. Everyone stood and sang, and when the music dropped away, our voices carried on through the stadium: “Bomm, bomm, bomm…” and “So good, so good, so good.” Exactly the moment I had been waiting for since I saw Fever Pitch the first time. Oh yeah, we looked for Ben’s seats, too, and I think we found them. And our conversation all night was filled with random lines from the movie as appropriate.
Leaving Fenway, there were as many people partying as before the game. Thousands of people headed to Kenmore station along with us, and we stood nearly suffocating in the entrance way to Kenmore. Joel even commented that he had a small taste of what Holocaust victims must have felt as they were being herded around. Marc said he didn’t know if he would make it from the stifling heat and bodies pressed so closely to each other. We faced similar crowds in Chicago when we left Wrigley Field, but the train was closer, and people pushed onto the trains much more fiercely than in Boston. In Boston, everyone was polite but slowly moved to the train. I believe Atlanta has a much easier program for transporting crowds to and from the game, but they are getting ready to mess that up when they move the stadium again.
Finally, we made it back to Alewife station and then back to our hotel in Lexington – exhausted, yet fulfilled. A night at Fenway alone was worth the drive from South Carolina; I am so grateful I had the opportunity to share this moment with Marc, Jordan, and Joel. I hope they carry this memory in their hearts and tell the story of their night at Fenway to their children one day.
Kristie Camp 