Baseball

I went to my first Dodgers game yesterday with some friends. It was the first ballgame I've attended in LA. I'm told Dodgers Stadium is the 4th oldest in baseball right now, and I've been to Wrigley, which is also in the top 4. I prefer Wrigley. There have been some recent improvements at Dodgers Stadium like new seats, but I obviously couldn't compare. The field is nice, but it's a shame the open end of the stadium just looks out onto the parking lot and the adjacent hillside. The guy who bought our tickets did a great job. We were in the "reserved level" (there was one section of seating higher up) on the third base side between third and home. Game time was 1pm, and we were in the sun for about 20-30 minutes before it slipped behind those upper seats and left us in the shade.

The seats are small and there's very little leg room. There weren't many concession stands, so the lines were huge. I didn't wait. The fans were the most obnoxious people I've ever been around at a game. My friend's brother and his dad were wearing Giants hats because his dad grew up in SF as a Giants fan. This particular game was against the Angels. Apparently, the Dodgers and Giants have some sort of rivalry going that isn't helped by the Barry Bonds fiasco. So, we heard some extremely vulgar comments frequently about the Angels and the Giants. The comments became increasingly personal and directed at my friends until the end of the game when a confrontation ensued. There was no fight, but my friend and his brother don't let things go the way I do. I'm all for some good-natured rivalry stoking, but the comments here were way beyond the pale. It definitely tarnished the experience to have to listen to those drunken idiots screaming profanities constantly. It's a shame security lets that kind of thing go. People bring their children to these games and they have to endure that nonsense?

I won't be going to a Dodgers game again any time soon. Maybe I'll make the trek to Anaheim. I hear the stadium is nicer, so maybe the fans are too.