Three Rivers Stadium (#9)

Braves vs. Pirates
Pirates Lose 2-8

Pittsburgh has a lot of good fans, especially for a team that is not all that great. I know that at the time they were chasing the division leaders, but keep in mind it's a division where ALL of the teams are below .500! There also seemed to be a lot of Braves' fans on hand, but I would say that was due to the fact they're the defending National League Champs. Two words "Fairweather Fans." The Pirates' Parrot seems to like the same hobbies as his counterpart in Philadelphia. After a Mother's Day visit from Mother Parrot, he also shot hot dogs into the stands.

The game was not all that great, considering the best team in the NL was playing one of the fundamentally worst teams I have seen. John Smoltz was batting better than the most of the Pirates' starters. Don't get me wrong, I still had a great time and enjoyed the stadium. The people of Pittsburgh have a stadium they can be proud of, especially when the Steelers are playing. This also brings and end to our first epic quest of 5 games in 5 days, but I'll be glad to get back and share my stories with my wonderful, and understanding wife.

Veterans Stadium (#8)

Rockies vs. Phillies
Phillies Win 5-4 (10 innings)


Although I despise artificial turf, I was impressed with Veterans' Stadium. It had a very neat appearance from the outside, and looked patriotic on the inside. It held a strong reminder that baseball is America's pastime. It was dollar dog night, so I was able to indulge in 4 hot dogs for same price as 1 beer. It's too bad I wasn't able to get a fifth hot dog from the Phillie Phanatic who was launching them with a hot dog shaped gun, into the stands.

What a great game!! Our first extra inning game turns out to be the most exciting by far. The Phillies and the Rockies were trading runs every other inning, until they tied it up in ninth. Then the game was wrapped up by a game-winning homer by Darren Daulton. What a feeling, the fans all went nuts. That has got to be the best way to see a game end.

Fenway Park (#7)

Rangers vs. Red Sox
Red Sox Lose 1-5


A bitterly cold night in Boston would make you think that only the true fans would come out to cheer on the Red Sox, but I was very wrong. Hey all you Boston kids, SIT DOWN!! During the entire game kids were running up and down the stairs. It didn't seem like anyone was too interested in the game at hand. Not that it was a game that was kept your attention. The Red Sox got hammered by the Rangers.

Fenway though is a neat, historic stadium. It has very few advertisements littering the walls and puts the fans close to the action on the field. I was also surprised to see that there was a concession stand which served Bratwurst. Being a Wisconsin native, I was looking forward to trying a brat from another part of the country. It was pretty apparent that brats weren't served all that much in the New England area, the vendor was thrown by me using the word "brat" instead of bratwurst. Not everyone's perfect.

Yankee Stadium (#6)

Rangers vs. Yankees
Yankees Win 5-1

A chilly Thursday evening drew a small crowd for the defending World Series Champions. The fans that did attend the game were very excited and into what was going on down on the field, especially considering it was a rather uneventful game. Some of them were loud and obnoxious, one to the point where a woman seated in front of him decided to toss a beer in his face. While she was escorted by security out of the stadium, she received several less than kind words from the people around her.
The stadium as whole is neat, but does not give the appearance of being an old stadium. Whether or not that is a good or bad thing is hard to tell. The jumbotron and scoreboard in the outfield help make the key details of the game available to fans no matter where they are sitting. There must be some sort of tradition or long-standing heritage with the PA announcer, because he gave no tones of excitement when announcing the Yankee players.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards (#5)

Angels vs. Orioles
Orioles Win 3-0

Hats off to the friendliest fans I have seen on our tour of stadiums! Camden Yards is a great modern park with a classic feel. Everything was very clean, and the 43,000+ fans seemed to really enjoy the game. The stadium was neat both inside and out and fit in well with the out buildings in Baltimore. It is definitely a place I want to return to.

We saw a good game, Chris Hoiles hit a homer. It seems like everywhere we go, there is always someone cheering for the visiting team, but this time I was really surprised. About 10 seats over was a person cheering for and decked out in Angels' stuff. If he was from the Anaheim area, he is quite a dedicated fan. I guess the reason this was surprising is because the Angels aren't a team that gets into the national spotlight very often.