 |
| Helping Sox fans cope with cold |
These
are the ninnies who will complain that the season should start with the first
games actually played in western or southern cities – or in places like Milwaukee
where the local officials erected a stadium with a retractable roof.
AS
THOUGH THE Chicago ball clubs, or teams from places like New York, Boston or
other eastern or Midwestern municipalities ought to have to start out their
seasons with a streak of road games.
Personally,
I’d argue those are the franchises with the lengthy histories and cultural
existence and where the locals know how to handle a little cold weather.
Just
like on Thursday when the Chicago White Sox started out the 2018 season with
their first home game a loss to the Detroit Tigers, and there were times one
could see the heavy snowfall coming down during the ball game.
An early season freebie giveaway promotion the White Sox offered up? A stocking cap with the
Old English “Sox” logo and in the black and grey of Sox colors. Truly an
appropriate giveaway, and one that I’m sure many a fan who actually attends Saturday's game will bother to wear.
 |
| Will TV-viewing fans get to see ... |
OF
COURSE, THERE were those who felt compelled to mock – with the observation
being that many of the people who theoretically gave the White Sox a capacity
crowd by buying tickets somehow managed to disappear by about the fifth inning.
Resulting
in many empty seats, particularly in the Sox stadium’s upper deck.
I’m
going to be watching the crowds that show up at Wrigley Field come Monday,
where the Chicago Cubs will have their Opening Day. Monday’s weather forecasts
are for equally-dismal weather conditions.
Temperatures
might get as high as 40 degrees, but it will be a cloudy, overcast day with
light rainfall (and maybe even snow) expected to hit Chicago. Not ideal
conditions for sitting outside in the stands to watch a ball game.
 |
| ... split-screen, simultaneous home runs? |
I
DON’T DOUBT that the Cubs have sold the just over 40,000 tickets for Monday’s
game against Pittsburgh (another ‘tough’ city that wouldn’t let some inclement
weather put a stop to a ballgame) so they’ll be able to claim a capacity crowd.
It will be “sold out,” even though I don’t doubt that watching the game on
television will reveal many vacant seats.
It
also will be interesting to see the White Sox game that same day. Because their
game at Guaranteed Rate Field against the Tampa Bay Rays has been rescheduled
from 7:10 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.
White
Sox officials said they think making it a day game will be more comfortable for
fans than having them sit in the stands during the evening hours.
But
it also means we’re literally going to have both Chicago ball clubs playing
simultaneously Monday afternoon. (The Cubs game is scheduled to start about 10
minutes after the White Sox take the field).
WE
IN CHICAGO occasionally get the days when a Cubs game is scheduled for the afternoon,
with a White Sox game in the evening. People can literally take the Red Line
elevated train from one ballpark to the other to see both games in the same
day. Which has its drawback -- a fan gets intoxicated during the day at Wrigley and is so wasted by nightfall at Guaranteed Rate that he acts stupid AND EVERYBODY wants to think it's the Sox' fault!
 |
| Monday not likely to look this idyllic |
A
split screen feature put to work on that new-fangled huge screen television.
Maybe we’ll get the dual sight of Jose Abreu and Kris Bryant hitting home runs
simultaneously on both sides of town.
Although
knowing our city’s sporting mentality and likely crummy luck, we’re more likely
to get two collections of fans suffering frostbite and two more digits in the “loss”
column – just what Chicago needs on a dreary day when it seems like not even
baseball can make winter go away!
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment