On August 13, 2008, Papi took his son and his grandson (and one of Jacob's hooligan friends, Marcus) to a Chicago White Sox Game on Chicago's South Side, home of the sky-high hair, skin-tight jeans, wife-beater t-shirts, "business in the front; party out back", and fans who take justice for bad calls into their own hands, Walker Texas Ranger style.
I have to admit, as much as I thought I'd hate U.S. Cellular Field for being more of a mall than an American ball park, I was pleasantly surprised. It's a very nice stadium. The staff everywhere were friendly and helpful. The bathrooms were much nicer than those at the other Chicago baseball field, I readily admit. So, I give the park a thumbs up! I understand that Joan Cusack sleeps in a
n empty broom closet somewhere beneath the stands around the third-base line. She's sort of like the Quasimodo of the Cell, I guess, occasionally scurrying up to the top of the scoreboard to launch fireworks (or try to catch them; it's difficult, sometimes, to determine which). Her presence was definitely felt that cool, late-summer evening as Mark Beuhrle took the mound against the Kansas City Royals, seeking payback for their sweeping a series against the Sox earlier in the season.
A few things I observed while attending this game:
- It is great to see Harold Baines back with the White Sox. He was one of my baseball heroes when I was growing up.
- Sox fans really, vehemently, passionately hate Cubs fans. I saw two things that really disturbed me that night. One was just a T-shirt riddled with little Cubs heads with bulletholes between the eyes that read, "Cubs Fans! Shoot to Kill." worn by a mouthbreather sporting a skullet who looks like he'd gleefully and readily follow the advice displayed on his barrel chest. The other was a bit more unnerving. It was a drunk, cocky, idiot physically roughing up a man wearing a Cubs hat in front of that man's own child. The Cubs fan said, "Come on, man. My kid's here. Leave me alone. It's only a game." The other guy said, "Does your kid know how much of a fa**ot you are!?" It was broken up by Sox fans, so that was a good thing. Just not very classy. I'm not saying that could not happen at Wrigley Field, I'm just saying that I've never seen it happen, and I've been to quite a few more Cubs games over the past few years than Sox games. I see a lot of pro-Cubs shirts; not a lot of against-Sox stuff, at all.
- Back to the positive: Got to see Mark Beuhrle pitch in person.
- Got to see Ken Griffey Jr. play in a Sox uniform in person.
- Got to see Bobby Jenks close... in person.
- Was entirely entertained by my son and his friend.
- Had a great time shooting the breeze about baseball with my Dad, the walking almanac.
The Sox won that night. It was an great game, and a great night, overall! Enjoy the pictures!
