Fenway Park

Today I am able to cross off an item on my life's to-do list, if I indeed had a list. I took in a game at Fenway Park. The Sox lost 6-0, but that is hardly the point. Rarely do I actually remember who won or lost the game, but rather I remember the experience surrounding the game. I couldn't tell you who won or lost a single game on my baseball roadtrip a few years back, but I could tell you where our tickets were for every game and that we waited out a rain delay in Wrigley and I almost caught a foul ball at Kaufman Stadium. So the Sox losing last night takes some fun out of the game, but not the overall experience. Sure, I didn't get to high-five a stranger, or spill my drink on the person in front of me when I jumped up for the winning home run, but the atmosphere and the aura of the parm remain unblemished.
My Fenway experience began about 4:30, when I got in line for tickets. I waited with a few hundred people to buy the tickets the Sox save for two hours before game time. After purchasing your ticket, mine was $50 for lower-level behind homeplate, you're immediately ushered into the stadium in order to persever the integrity of the tickets, i.e. scalpers can't buy day of tickets just to sell them. So I get into Fenway about an 1:20 before the first pitch and the place was crowded. The Sox game isn't merely a game, but rather an evening out. And hardly anybody is sitting in their seats yet, but rather everybody is is in one of the concourses eating a hot dog or a sausage of some kind, and drinking beer. Every 10-15 feet is another sausage/beer stand. Pure awesomeness. The stadium and the concourses are an interesting mix. Fenway is nearly a century old, but the concourses are new. The concrete floor is cracked and anything but smooth and the stadium shows all 100 years of its existence, but the concourses are modern and very fan friendly. The best concourse is Yawkey way, though. They block off the entire street a couple hours before the game so fans can spend time outside. Of course, you can buy beer and sausages outside, as well as listen to live music. Souvenir shops line the adjacent building and TV sets are abound in order to watch the pre-game, or if you need a smoke break during the game.
So we finally got to our seats. Now I don't think any ballpark has incredibly comfortable seats, but these aren't even close. You sit with your knees in your chest, while bumping the row in front of you, and it is impossible to avoid rubbing shoulders/elbows with the people next to you and a pole obstructs part of the viewing, but what do you want from an old stadium? People were smaller when it was built didn't have nearly the comforts we are used to.
The stadium was packed for a Monday night game against the anemic Oakland Athletics. But it's the Red Sox and they have sold out more than 500 consecutive games. But the fact that almost every ticket holder there was what was amazing. And the excitement throughout the stadium, from the moment I walked in until the last pitch, was incredible. They love their Red Sox (now that they're winning). As I found out during the starting line-ups, the game carried a little more significance than orginally thought - Nomar was returning. It would be his first time back in Fenway since he was traded in 2004. He received a warm applause when his name was announced in the starting line-up, but nothing compared to the standing ovation he received in his first plate appearance. He led off the second inning, and the Red Sox Nation standed and applauded him for a couple of minutes. It was a truly incredible experience. Here is this visiting player, who hasn't been on the team in five years, was traded away because he wasn't getting the job done, and never led them to a World Series, receiving an incredible amount of love from the fans. He nearly broke down in tears. I stood and applauded, not because I care about Nomar or have appreciation for what he did, but because you could the fans were saying "Thank You" and it was a moving experience that you couldn't just sit idly by and watch.
Nomar grounded out and the game continued. The A's jumped out to a 5-0 lead so we decided to wonder around Fenway more and see all the stadium. We explored all of the bad angles and strange viewing positions of the stadium. And we stumbled into a bar. Up above in right field, the have the Right Field Roof, complete with a full-scale bar, with stools and TVs and the whole works. Why watch the game live when you can sit at a bar right? Well, you have the option still in Fenway. Unbelievable.
We then made our way back to our seats, at which point the crowd was feeling the maximum beer affect (the 7th inning) and I saw the wave go around the entire stadium at least 4 times. Now that was impressive. The fans were finally starting to come alive, even though the Sox weren't in the game.
We got back to our seats for the 8th inning, enough time to sing Sweet Caroline in the largest Karoake spectacle I've been a part of. We stayed until the end of the game, even though it was clear the Red Sox had no answer for the A's starting pitcher, who completed the shutout, only giving up two hits. I later found it was the first time a rookie shutout the Sox at Fenway since 1989. We walked back to the car, and my Fenway experience was complete.