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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
I both love and hate Fenway Park. I first went there in 1972 as a 9-year-old with my father. I can still remember walking up the ramp and seeing the bright green playing field for the first time. It was like an explosion in my eyes! Then when we got to our seats - a giant pole was right in front of us! So the love/hate relationship was right from the start. I think at the time, 40% of the seats at Fenway were "obstructed view".

During the late 1970s, when I was a little older, I went to 30-40 games a year. Back then, it was cheap. I could go to all the games I wanted to on newspaper route money. I can still remember paying $1.25 to get a bleacher seat and after about the fifth inning, depending on attendance, they would let you buy a "grandstand pass" for an additional 75 cents and you got a standing room ticket that allowed you to roam the park and occupy any empty seat.

I usually got to work myself to the front row by the end of the game as many people left early to get a jump on traffic - especially if the game wasn't close. One time it paid off. The Red Sox were down something like 7-2 in the ninth and they came from behind to win. I saw the whole comeback from right behind the dugout and could practically touch Carl Yastremski as he trotted back to the dugout after making the winning hit.

Back in the 1970s, they sold beer to any kid who had the balls to ask for one. So I was 16 years old and drinking beer in the park! I think it was only 75 cents at the time. It's about $8.50 now.

Good times. But they really need to build a new ballpark. Turn Fenway into a museum or something. Keep the green monster intact and build hotels and restaurants all around the perimeter of the old field and people will still come even though the ballpark is now retired. It will be a gold mine for decades to come.

67 posted on 06/21/2012 3:43:42 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: SamAdams76

I remember $1.30 bleacher seats at Yankee Stadium (I grew up in New York) when a paper route paid $9.00/week, without tips. I remember drinking beer in Pete’s Blarney Tavern at night sitting at the bar next to two cops in uniform, when I was 15. At least I was paying for my beer.


77 posted on 06/22/2012 4:36:15 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The Democratic Party strongly supports full civil rights for necro-Americans!)
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