A Tale of Two Ballparks
I had to write a paper for English 101 on why one thing is better than the other. I am quite aware it full of grammar errors but enjoy it anyways:
The national perception of the Chicago Cubs home ballpark, Wrigley Field, is one of summertime fun in one of the oldest sports stadiums still standing. While it may be true Wrigley Field is old it far from comfortable or fun or even historic; that is unless you choose to call the team that makes Wrigley Field it’s home historic for the sheer fact they have been a loosing baseball team for nearly 100 years now. The often overlooked other ballpark in Chicago, US Cellular Field, is vastly superior to Wrigley Field in every aspect. It is a modern ballpark with a real Chicago neighborhood surrounding it, top notch amenities, great sightlines, and believe it or not, trumps Wrigley Field in “history”.
Cub fans seems to be just as enthusiastic about their dilapidating ballpark as they are their already dilapidated baseball team and will defend Wrigley Field, in all its glory, with much vigor. They often speak of the wonderful neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field and overall ambience of “Wrigleyville”. Although, I would argue Wrigleyville is as about as authentically Chicago as Bloomington, Indiana. The whole neighborhood is filled with twenty and thirty year olds transplants who wish to live in an area that openly promotes and celebrates the party lifestyle. What Wrigley Field enthusiasts see as the ambiance of Wrigley Field and its surrounding area, I perceive as a giant frat party with no parking. When you go to US Cellular Field you are not going to get all the sights and sounds of Wrigleyville but what you will find is a real baseball stadium, a real Chicago neighborhood, and you will be actually be able to park your car in the area. What a concept! The neighborhood surrounding US Cellular Field, Bridgeport, is a true working class neighborhood that is true to the roots of the city and also exemplifies its diversity. You will find all walks life in the area from Polish to African American to Mexican to Chinese. While parking at Wrigley Field is next to impossible it is never a problem at US Cellular Field. US Cellular Field has many parking lots in the surrounding area of the ballpark.
Wrigley Field was built in 1914 and when you go there it shows. It is actually starting to fall apart. In the 2004 season there were incidents of falling concrete from the upper deck seating to the seats down below. What did the Chicago Cubs organization do to alleviate this problem? Well, they installed nets to catch the falling concrete. Nets, that’s right, nets; so now the fans can enjoy the game there without the worry of falling concrete. Even with or without the nets Wrigley Field has some other serious problems and drawbacks. The bathroom facilities are still ancient and too few and far between. Often the lines go out the door and if you are a woman you will even have a harder time in the bathrooms. As far as the ballpark food is concerned there is probably a reason that many of the fans come to the ballpark just to drink because their concessions is obsolete compared to any major sports stadium today. There are also several areas of the stadium deemed “obstructed view” seating; which pretty much means that you have a giant pole blocking you from watching the game. On the other hand at US Cellular Field (which was completed in 1991) you have no falling concrete, up to date bathroom facilities, a wide variety of delicious ballpark food, and no obstructed view seating in the whole stadium. As well, you have many other modern amenities and entertainment such as areas for children, a ballpark museum, jumbo-screen, luxury suites, a sports bar in right field, and a fan deck overlooking center field.
One baseball team in Chicago has the shortest World Series title drought while the other has the longest. The Chicago White Sox this year went from the start of the season to the end of the season in first place and finishing with the most wins in the American League. They play an exciting brand of baseball at US Cellular Field that mixed power and speed with great pitching from their starters to their bullpen. The White Sox marched through the playoffs to capture the World Series title. Even though Wrigley Field is 77 years older than US Cellular Field it has never seen its home team, the Chicago Cubs, win a World Series title. While Wrigley Field is an old stadium, it hardly the type of history you would want associated with a ballpark or a baseball franchise. In fact, the last World Series title the Chicago Cubs won was in 1908, six years before Wrigley Field was even finished. The Chicago Cubs continued their losing way this past summer at Wrigley Field finishing 4th place in their division by playing inconsistent, uninspired, and unentertaining baseball; which is something Wrigley Field is used to hosting.
The national perception of the Chicago Cubs home ballpark, Wrigley Field, is one of summertime fun in one of the oldest sports stadiums still standing. While it may be true Wrigley Field is old it far from comfortable or fun or even historic; that is unless you choose to call the team that makes Wrigley Field it’s home historic for the sheer fact they have been a loosing baseball team for nearly 100 years now. The often overlooked other ballpark in Chicago, US Cellular Field, is vastly superior to Wrigley Field in every aspect. It is a modern ballpark with a real Chicago neighborhood surrounding it, top notch amenities, great sightlines, and believe it or not, trumps Wrigley Field in “history”.
Cub fans seems to be just as enthusiastic about their dilapidating ballpark as they are their already dilapidated baseball team and will defend Wrigley Field, in all its glory, with much vigor. They often speak of the wonderful neighborhood surrounding Wrigley Field and overall ambience of “Wrigleyville”. Although, I would argue Wrigleyville is as about as authentically Chicago as Bloomington, Indiana. The whole neighborhood is filled with twenty and thirty year olds transplants who wish to live in an area that openly promotes and celebrates the party lifestyle. What Wrigley Field enthusiasts see as the ambiance of Wrigley Field and its surrounding area, I perceive as a giant frat party with no parking. When you go to US Cellular Field you are not going to get all the sights and sounds of Wrigleyville but what you will find is a real baseball stadium, a real Chicago neighborhood, and you will be actually be able to park your car in the area. What a concept! The neighborhood surrounding US Cellular Field, Bridgeport, is a true working class neighborhood that is true to the roots of the city and also exemplifies its diversity. You will find all walks life in the area from Polish to African American to Mexican to Chinese. While parking at Wrigley Field is next to impossible it is never a problem at US Cellular Field. US Cellular Field has many parking lots in the surrounding area of the ballpark.
Wrigley Field was built in 1914 and when you go there it shows. It is actually starting to fall apart. In the 2004 season there were incidents of falling concrete from the upper deck seating to the seats down below. What did the Chicago Cubs organization do to alleviate this problem? Well, they installed nets to catch the falling concrete. Nets, that’s right, nets; so now the fans can enjoy the game there without the worry of falling concrete. Even with or without the nets Wrigley Field has some other serious problems and drawbacks. The bathroom facilities are still ancient and too few and far between. Often the lines go out the door and if you are a woman you will even have a harder time in the bathrooms. As far as the ballpark food is concerned there is probably a reason that many of the fans come to the ballpark just to drink because their concessions is obsolete compared to any major sports stadium today. There are also several areas of the stadium deemed “obstructed view” seating; which pretty much means that you have a giant pole blocking you from watching the game. On the other hand at US Cellular Field (which was completed in 1991) you have no falling concrete, up to date bathroom facilities, a wide variety of delicious ballpark food, and no obstructed view seating in the whole stadium. As well, you have many other modern amenities and entertainment such as areas for children, a ballpark museum, jumbo-screen, luxury suites, a sports bar in right field, and a fan deck overlooking center field.
One baseball team in Chicago has the shortest World Series title drought while the other has the longest. The Chicago White Sox this year went from the start of the season to the end of the season in first place and finishing with the most wins in the American League. They play an exciting brand of baseball at US Cellular Field that mixed power and speed with great pitching from their starters to their bullpen. The White Sox marched through the playoffs to capture the World Series title. Even though Wrigley Field is 77 years older than US Cellular Field it has never seen its home team, the Chicago Cubs, win a World Series title. While Wrigley Field is an old stadium, it hardly the type of history you would want associated with a ballpark or a baseball franchise. In fact, the last World Series title the Chicago Cubs won was in 1908, six years before Wrigley Field was even finished. The Chicago Cubs continued their losing way this past summer at Wrigley Field finishing 4th place in their division by playing inconsistent, uninspired, and unentertaining baseball; which is something Wrigley Field is used to hosting.