Why The Overall Experience Here Tops Even Fenway Park
I have been to both Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. While I like both, when comparing the two, Wrigley Field is the better overall game-day experience. Here’s the case for my opinion.
I have a friend from Boston who would dump a hot bowl of clam “chaw-da” on me were I to say this in front of him but Wrigley Field is the best ballpark in America.
He, of course, would immediately say Fenway Park, with its Green Monster, Pesky’s Pole and pregame scene on Yawkey Way.
And while all that’s a great part of America’s sports culture – and a great experience for travel in the USA – it’s the equivalent “warning track power” to use a baseball term when compared to Wrigley Field in Chicago.
That’s because Wrigley Field is like stepping back into what baseball must have been like in the 1920s. It has those red, white and blue banners hanging over the sides, an oompha band going through the stands before the game and some seats so close you feel you can almost reach out and touch the players. About all that’s missing are men dressed in suits and those skinny ties. And, well only day games and the ability to easily get tickets and the prices of everything, but that’s sports in America today. The seventh-inning stretch is legendary, too, the singing of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” with everyone in the stands taking part in it.
Wrigley Field also has a better pregame scene than Fenway and a much better post-game scene. Despite fun places like the Cask ‘n Flagon and the overall lively scene on Yawkey Way, Murphy’s Bleachers in Chicago is more lively and so easy to mingle with the super-friendly Chicago locals.
After the game, it’s the Cubby Bear, which is like a post-game Spring Break party.
The stadium itself is intimate and has those fun fans in the bleachers, who throw the balls back onto the field when an opposing player hits a home run. The ivy along the outfield wall can create hilarious moments as players reach a hand in it trying to locate a ball and pull it out of the tangled mess.
Both of these stadiums are great American experiences and are well worth making the centerpiece of summertime travel. It’s just that if you have to choose one, I advise to choose Wrigley.
The Nightlife Blogger is the bar columnist for PubClub.com, An award-winning journalist, Kevin Wilkerson has spent more than two decades covering bars, nightlife, destinations and events around the world, always searching for the stories and experiences most travelers overlook.
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