Wrigley Field....what a magical place!

It was a long day yesterday to say the least....a combined 8 hours of travelling with a game at Wrigley Field sandwiched in....Started the day off by getting up in Milwaukee at 7 a.m. to make the train at 8.....2 hours later, I was back in Chicago, grabbed a taxi at 10 from the train station, but traffic for the Cubs game was backed up already, so I didn't make it to the game until about 10:45...

Game was delayed 'til 12:30, game finished at 3, went to bus station for 5 to head to Cleveland only to find the bus was sold out, went back to train station to get train at 7, made it to Cleveland at 2 a.m.

I walked around the park and found myself just in awe of what I was seeing....much like the feeling when I walked around Fenway Park almost two months ago....It's just so hard to put the stadium on a list because of the age and history that this stadium represents...but I managed to put it on the list... :-)

Of course, I had to have myself a Chicago Dog and a big cup of Old Style and the price wasn't all that bad either....11 bucks for the two.....that might seem like a lot, but once you've seen all the prices at the difference stadiums, 11 bucks ain't bad anymore....

The game was delayed until 12:35 because of rain throughout the morning, but it turned out to be a beautiful day for baseball.....The game itself was a 2-0 win for the Twins, so I didn't even get to see the Cubs fans cheer for anything and the pitchers for both teams were on fire, so the game was just a couple minutes over 2 hours....a nice contrast from the game before in Milwaukee that was 3 hours and 48 minutes for a 9 inning game....

I had never gone to Wrigley before yesterday and after going, I would find a way to go over and over again.....people were certainly right for putting it on a list of must-dos for any sports fan....you don't have to even be a baseball fan to appreciate where you are and have some fun....

I hate to say it, but in order to understand the feeling of how magical this place, it's something that you have to experience for yourself....I hate to say that because part of the reason of the blog is to convey what it would be like for you to be in my shoes, but it's really hard to do....

From the sight of the ivy outlining the outfield wall, to the hundreds of people sitting on the rooftops of the buildings across the street, to the thousands of people inside the stadium singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, there's so much that is unique to this stadium....and every little thing that occurs in a baseball game seems to have more meaning and emotion while at Wrigley than any other stadium....

Alright, so here's the new list with only 2 stadiums to go:

1) AT&T Park - San Francisco

2) Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs
3) Petco Park - San Diego
4) Miller Park - Milwaukee
5) Chase Field - Arizona
6) Minute Maid Park - Houston
7) Camden Yards - Baltimore
8) The New K (Kaufmann Stadium) - Kansas City
9) The Ballpark in Arlington - Texas
10) PNC Park - Pittsburgh
11) Comerica Park - Detroit
12) Citi Field (New Mets Stadium)
13) Fenway Park - Boston
14) Yankee Stadium
15) Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia
16) Angels Stadium - Anaheim
17) Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles
18) US Cellular Field - Chicago White Sox

19) Busch Stadium - St. Louis
20) Safeco Field - Seattle

21) Coors Field - Colorado

22) Rogers Centre - Toronto
23) The Metrodome - Minnesota
24) Turner Field - Atlanta
25) Tropicana Field - Tampa
26) Nationals Park - Washington
27) Oakland-Alameda Coliseum - Oakland
28) Dolphins Stadium - Miami

So, I put it at Number 2 just behind San Francisco....the biggest positive was atmosphere as I described before....the only reason it didn't get to Number 1 because it just doesn't offer enough of the modern-day amenities and information that I want to know while I'm watching a game.....yes I know, it's a petty reason to make it lose points since it was built in 1914, but I'm going with my gut.....

People will wonder why Fenway isn't higher....the major difference is that the Cubs have done a great job of keeping Wrigley as modern as possible as it ages, while Fenway has failed to do that...now some people might like the idea of keeping it as original as possible, but having sat in one of those original chairs for the Red Sox game as opposed to the modern seat at Wrigley yesterday, it makes a big difference....

Alright, we're into Day 60 today, so an off day to explore Cleveland, then the Indians game tomorrow night and then we're done on Wednesday night with the game in Cincinnati....