You may wonder if the chance to watch baseball at the Coliseum was worth the trip all the way to LA.

Well, the shear enormity of the event- in size rather than signifcance- was worth it. There was a carnival-like atmosphere around the stadium with tailgating starting at 8am and continuing through out the game. At this time, we were still in Chicago but getting ready to take the trip.

By the time we landed in LA (5pm) and got to the game (6pm), the level of drunkard-ness and chaos was quite high. We had accept the fact that there was only $60 parking and decided that it was good Karma to pay the high price. Lord knows that we have sold our share of inflated parking in Wrigleyville and this is part of the circle of sports lifes around a stadium. Walking towards the Coliseum, we had the pleasant experience of watching LAPD cart an arrested man in the back of their squad car while the man beat his own head on the bullet proof partition. Of course, he was in full Dodgers gear. Other than that, people were drunk but peaceful.

The stadium itself was beautiful…decked out in Dodger blue. There was a fly over by three helicopters that looked more like LA news choppers pursuing a car chase on the 405.

Andrew, in protest of the Dodgers, came decked out in Red Sox gear…a bold move amongst all the Dodger fans. And, he was out numbered by quite a bit. Attendance broke world record at 115,300.

The crowds were so big inside the stadium that it took us an inning and a half to squeeze through the numerous bottlenecks and backups. We sat with Ultimate Dodger Fan, Wil,l who is the paparazzi of sports photography. Photos are to come…. In the interim, here is a pic of me posing as a Dodger fan….

Now, with apologies to Will and other Dodger fans, I have to ask one touchy question:
Why, oh why, do Dodger fans make it SO difficult to be likeable?

With the stadium decked out in the flags and pangentry of any special event, I was shocked to look up in the 8th inning and realize that the fans had stolen most of the flags around the entire stadium. At one point, one thug was on the jumbotron stealing a flag and flicking off the boo-ing crowd. Can you imagine Cubs fans stealing the Opening Day bunting? I was once highly offended when my Dodger blanket was stolen and when my Cubs license plate holder was ripped off my car. Now, I am not taking it so personally. Sadly, the Dodgers even thug their own.