Day 8 – Chicago’s “other” baseball stadium.

Yes, I know there’s no day 7. That was a nondescript day off in Wisconsin to relax and prep for the ride back east.

In the world of Chicago sports there are two big league baseball teams. You have the Cubs, a team with a nationwide fan base that is one of the most beloved franchises in all of American sports. It goes without saying that they have the hearts of most of Chicago’s sports fan base as well. Playing in an iconic sports venue in a decent city neighborhood that millions of tourists flock to doesn’t hurt their image either.

Then you have the White Sox, who play on the “other side of town” in a respectable working class neighborhood of the South Side. And they compete in a venue that has been critically panned for years since its opening back in 1991. Sterile, bland, didn’t go the retro park route they said.

But that was prior to US Cellular spending tens of millions of dollars to put their name on the venue, and much of that capital was put into a complete makeover of this venue. The USRT first visited as the transformation was underway back in 2005 and liked what we saw, and couldn’t wait to return when it was completed. Fast forward to now, and I’ll simply tell you this. If in Chicago do not skip the South Side. Hitting both parks is a must.

Where there once was sky blue seating was changed to a dark shade of green. The top rows of the monstrous upper deck were lopped off to create a greater intimacy, and a facade was placed above it. All very nice, but it’s in the concourses that this venue makes a great impression.

The upper level concourse may be the sharpest looking one in the business. On one side of it from one end to another is a wonderful pictoral mural of the history of the Sox, and to an extent Chicago sports in general. Yet it goes further with plenty of historical photos of the city’s entertainment, role in transportation, and neighborhoods along with other special moments city’s history. A. Must. See.

Continuing with the history format, most of the concession stands are named after great players and major moments in the clubs history. “Nellie’s Pivot Point”, “Kittle’s Brat’s”…so many that I couldn’t even name. Entrances to aisles with a team logo on it from the past. Statues of many of the team’s greats are situated on the outfield pavilion. I know I said that Detroit’s Comerica Park celebrates their history better than anywhere else in the Major Leagues, but this venue makes me rethink that to say the least.

Add to it a fan base at the park that seems to care more about winning than their North Side rivals. OK I do take that back, but the reality is that Wrigley is a nationwide tourist attraction that attracts baseball fans of all teams while a White Sox game will likely have a bigger percentage of their own fans in the joint on any given day.

And the most recent addition to the park, one that probably riles up Cubs fans even further is a plaza outside the homeplate entrance celebrating the 2005 World Series Champions. Not to mention a huge banner on the outfield exterior facade overlooking the expressway noting the same.

To say the least, “The Cell” is a must see in Chicago.

The game itself was about the worst one on the roadie as the White Sox were hammered by Boston 6-1. Former Bison Victor Martinez delivering the knockout punch with a three run blast in the eighth inning. It was the fourth consecutive loss by a home team on my journey. You could call it ” The Curse of Joe Nathan” for the Twins pitcher who melted down in the ninth inning of the Twins game at the Metrodome and caused the home team losing streak to begin.

Other trivial nonsense of note(or maybe not of note):

Parking is 23$….I have no idea why they chose such an odd number.

Peter is an idiot! While walking to the park I pulled out the game ticket that I had for the game. I did a double take of horror when I noticed that it was for the next day’s game. That’s twice(Cincinnati) that I did that! To make it worse, I had spent a bit to get a 100 level ticket. Stadium rules permit only 100 Level ticket holders to enter the 100 concourse. An unusual policy, but one implemented after the attack by fans of a first base coach on the field a few years back. So I had to splurge again, ugh!

My GPS is an idiot! While heading south from Milwaukee, the GPS instructed me to get off the 90/94 onto the Skokie Highway for a good 30 miles. Dumb move, sometimes you have to trust your instincts.

White Castle? You bet, 10 more upon leaving the stadium.

Little things that were really neat: On the concourse walls I saw a photo of President Barack Obama in Sox gear tossing out the first pitch of the 2009 All-Star Game. Saw a t-shirt commemorating Mark Beuhrle’s perfect game. And on that note, there’s a spot on the left center field fence where “The Catch” is inscribed to note DeWayne Wise’s fantastic ninth inning catch to preserve the perfecto.

And stop by “The Bullpen” at the base of the right field wall. Inside is a bar area loaded with more White Sox memorabilia including a couple of the spinning wheels from the scoreboard of the original Comiskey Park.

Afterwards, one last long drive eastward as I’d travel about 450 miles to a hotel near Pittsburgh to set up the final day of the road trip. An afternoon matinee in Pittsburgh followed by a nightcap in Cleveland was all that’s left of this great adventure.

-pjf