The New, More Abnoxious Fenway Park

This Sunday was supposed to be a good old day at the ball park. You see, I had spent about 5 times more then two grandstand tickets were truly worth to actually go see the Red Sox play their last game between the Yanks. Before I complain too much, they won, (yay!!), and will be moving into the post-season with the White Sox and the Yanks. But, with as wonderful as it was to bring my boyfriend to this "Baseball Mecca" of sorts was it all worth it?

The answer has some pretty mixed feelings. The first one being is yes! Of course it's worth visiting the park. Fenway has to be the most energetic and exciting baseball park visits anyone could ever go to. Yawkey Way a mess of in and out-of-towners, street vendors, fans and street musicians. The noise alone is enough to get a good groove going. Inside you have one of the smallest, if not the smallest, professional baseball park in the nation. With that you get to be up close and personal to the game anywhere you plant yourself to watch the game.

However, the atmosphere is where the good times stop at Fenway Park now-a-days. It all starts with the walk in from Kenmore station. Crowd control units are everywhere... and it isn't one or two men mulling around to make sure everything is staying stable. There were hundreds standing shoulder to shoulder, both sides of the street, coming out of the train station. Upon getting to Yawkey, one sausage vendor will be selling one of the nastiest italian sausage grinders for $8, while the guy next to him sells the exact same thing for $3 less, (I only know this because Nick bought a grinder at the first stand for the higher price, while I wasn't quite hungry yet and waited to about 2 or 3 stands down.) Combine this with the fact that all the carts are taking up all the very limited walking space out there and you make the area a whole lot more congested then it was when I was still a kid, (only 10 years ago people... not a lifetime I promise!)

Finally, after being completely ripped off outside the gates, we went inside the park... to be ripped off way more. One 12 oz. dixie cup of Budwieser draft was $6. Compared to Foxboro? Well, Foxboro still only serves Budwieser, but at least they give you a 12 oz. plastic bottle and they only charge you $4! Why the extra $2? I can't quiet understand it.

Besides the massive ass-rapping your going to encounter with your bank account, you should also be aware that they stopped smoking permitted areas within the park. Not a big deal - if they allowed re-entry. Nick, the vehement anti-smoker wasn't too upset about this, but when I asked him if they had allowed smoking but stopped allowing drinking how would he feel? I just wanted a spot to go - even if it was crowded and polluted. Heck, I wouldn't have even minded going outside the park... too bad they've discontinued re-entry to the park.

The bad times don't stop there though... unfortunately. While sitting in your seat your lucky to see more then 2 minutes of game time before a yellow jacketed vedor or train of drunk fans blocks your view. This was the true nightmare of Fenway this year. Every few minutes another guy carrying soda, peanuts, cracker jack, lemonade or hot dogs would scream it in your face. Then he'd expect you to help him do his job by passing down the food and passing back the change.

Anyway that you slice it folks, Fenway has gone the way of a bad carnival. Aside from the game, (that you could watch for free on TV), the trouble isn't worth it. The neighborhood the park is in, the people in the stadium and the people running the stadium itself have changed. My only wish? I want my old Fenway back!