Opening Day: Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs

For the first time since 1996 I attended Major League Baseball’s Opening Day which was also at Wrigley Field. It was also the first regular season game I have attended in March.

The start of the game was delayed for about 40 minutes. During the delay I sold my parking spot for $60 – making up for the $60 I paid in Los Angeles Saturday night.

I was hoping to see a 0-0 extra inning game when Milwaukee scored three runs in the top of the 9th. But in the bottom of the 9th inning, the crowd was ecstatic after Fukudome hit a 3-run home run to tie the game and send it to extra innings. In the end, the excitement was for not as the Cubs lost 4-3 in 10 innings.

Also of note was that Ben Sheets, the Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher, batted 8th. It was the first time in Milwaukee’s history that a pitcher batted other than 9th in the batting order.

Opening Day Trade: 10 beers, 5 plastic cups and my baseball mitt

Opening Day started early for us as we arrived home at 2 am after flying back from LA to Chicago. As we drove by Wrigley we saw the rooftop owner we know – Tom Gramatis. After a short conversation with him about the upcoming season we parked the car and walked across the street to Murphy’s Bleachers to see if we could eat dinner and watch ESPN Radio setup for Mike and Mike in Morning.

Murphy’s was closed to the public so instead we took pictures of the two tents set up at the bleacher entrance of Wrigley Field. It appears to be the 3rd year these guys have camped outside of the bleacher entrance.

Currently it is raining so I am waiting in my house before entering the field. I traded our two upper deck seats for a bleacher ticket. My friend Kelly McMahon is saving me a seat but I had to trade 10 beers, 5 plastic cups and my baseball mitt for the favor. Once they pull the tarp off the field I will be heading over.

Day Trip to Los Angeles

After spending 24 hours in Los Angeles to attend the Dodgers game at the LA Coliseum, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I made it back to Chicago in time for opening day. Check out the details here.

Los Angeles Dodgers at the LA Coliseum

An event like this only comes around once in a lifetime – at least a lifetime that started after 1961. You’ll notice that no stadium appears on my stadium pages that stopped being used before 1976 (the year I was born). My opinion is that you cannot miss a stadium if you were not alive to see it. Thus, the LA Dodgers playing at the LA Coliseum has been brought back from the dead (or pre-birth).

Rarely does a team go back to play in a stadium they played in previously. The stadiums are either torn down or condemned. I believe the only team that has done that is the Oakland Raiders who played at the Oakland Coliseum, the LA Coliseum and are now back at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I are flying to Los Angeles this afternoon (no point in waking up early for a night game on the West Coast). We land at LAX at 4:20 pm and will drive directly to the LA Coliseum for the 7:10 pm first pitch. The Dodgers have planned a festival-like atmosphere for the day. Tailgating will be permitted – a rarity for Dodger fans. We will miss most of the festival, but traveling back in time 50 years is something we won’t.

Allstate Arena

As I arrived at the Allstate Arena, the parking lot was pretty full – much more than I expected. I have not been to the Allstate Arena since the Ultimate Sports Wife and I went to Wrestlemania XXII on April 2, 2006 – obviously a sold out event.

Now I cannot think of a more pathetic thing than what I am about to report. But, I saw guys chugging beers in the “tailgating area.” I did not even know tailgating at Allstate existed.

The cheapest ticket at the Box Office was $16 so I passed on buying a ticket there. A guy in a car drove by and said he had an extra $30 ticket for $15. I wanted it for free, but ended up paying $10.

AFL: Arizona Rattlers at Chicago Rush

For the first time in six years, I am going to a Chicago Rush home game at the Allstate Arena. The Rush and the Chicago Storm (MISL) are the only Chicago teams’ home this evening. I am attending the Rush game because the league’s status is higher and the Allstate Arena is on my way home from work versus driving out to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls

Again, there was a lack of scalpers outside the Bulls game. It must be the low prices Bulls tickets are selling for now. I walked up to one of the box offices and a man had a $120 ticket available. He offered it for $60 but that was still too much for me. I probably would have paid $30 but never made the offer. After a couple minutes I asked another guy if he had an extra ticket. He had a $10 ticket and gave it to me for free! It was ticketfast but since it was free I could not complain. Once I was in the game, I asked a couple of people for a hard ticket. One woman gave me hers.

The Bulls almost gave up another 10+ point lead after the 4th quarter. But they hung on for the win and scored more than 100 points which was good enough for a free Big Mac.