Let's hear it for the Red Sox. Nice game, gentlemen. So much for that curse.
Now, maybe I can start to have some hope for my formerly beloved Brewers. I was a Brewers fan all through my growing up--I loved them when they were on a roll and I loved them when they were in the basement of the American League, but years of the Seligs eventually crushed my spirit. A Selig-free team might do the trick for me.
The year I was born, Hank Aaron still played for the Brewers. The summer I was six, the Brewers won the Pennant and played in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. In fifth grade, the entire city got free hamburgers at George Webb's, following a 13 game winning streak. When I was junior in high school, Robin Yount made his 3,000th hit. And through it all, I watched game after game, many of them in the stands of County Stadium. For me, baseball came with the sound of Bob Uecker's voice. And then...And then...
In 1994, at the very end of my senior year in high school, I attended my last ever game in County Stadium as I watched my team fall to the Texas Rangers. In 1996, Selig, Tommy Thompson, and some other fat boys demanded a new playground. "Stick it to 'em!" cried Tommy. In 1997, they switched to the National League, and broke my heart (and don't even think about lecturing me about the evil of the designated hitter rule--I will hear you not). In 2000, they tore down my stadium. In 2001, the new stadium was opened with Dubya on the premises. Will the man from LA be my savior?
My Brewers is County Stadium and Bob Uecker, Bernie Brewer going down the slide and "Bambi". My Brewers are Moliter, Yount, Cooper, Fingers, Gantner, Ogilvie, Thomas, Bando, Higuera, Money, Vuckovich... I know I'm leaving guys out, but that is the gist of it. God, I want my team back.
this summer when i got to sit in the non-bleachers section of wrigley field, and got to walk through the concourse behind home plate, i realized that a lot of the allure was not of the history of wrigley itself, but that it recalled memories of county stadium.
miller park, while still a very nice ballpark, will never replace county stadium in my heart. miller park seems compromised (a domed stadium with a "sunroof"), the inside is too sterile for baseball, and the prices, while still a relative bargain for entertainment of this type, still don't match $4 or $6 bleacher tickets (the $10 loge bleacher seats are close).
the brewers of the new millenium still have a lot of work to do. although even in the last two years there's been a definite improvement in the way baseball is played in miller park, albiet without a reflection in the standings, the current brewers line are chock-full of placeholder players with the exception of ben sheets and geoff jenkins.
in any case, i'm already looking forward to 2005. we should try and catch a game, schedule, travel, monetary situation etc. permitting.
I've been privileged to go to exactly two major league games, one at County Stadium in '77 with our fathers and grandfather, the other at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which also has been replaced by a multi-million-dollar stadium that has half of its capacity taken up by luxury skyboxes. Dodger Stadium, my closest MLB venue, ain't much better, from what I understand (I haven't yet set foot in the place). Frankly, if I want to watch live baseball, I'll drive 40 miles to watch our local minor-league team, with excellent seating in the stadium, cool promotions, etc.