Wicked Awesome

Tonight's lackluster Home Run Derby (though Robinson Cano is heating up) gives me a chance to blog on another baseball topic.

The presence of both Big Popi and A-Gone in the Derby is a reminder of our trip to Fenway last week. Prior to our trip I was kind of tired of Red Sox Nation and their loaded, Yankees-like line up.  

But our trip to Fenway won me back.  

I've been to Fenway probably 25 times, mostly in the 80s when I was working for PIRG.  Some things have changed since my last visit: the Ratskeller is no longer around the corner and there's a Qdoba and McDonalds and other chains on Kenmore Square.  And of course, you used to be able to walk up on game day and pick up a bleacher seat.  

Despite those changes the Red Sox experience is still pretty awesome.  Despite an increase in corporate signage the park itself looks gorgeous.  The renovations and additions by the current ownership look great.  Fenway looks classic and modern.

There's great beer selection, and you can pick up an excellent Fenway Frank inside the park or some great sausage outside.  And the fans are really INTO the game, rather than simply AT a game.

They also play great music between innings.  No Journey or classic rock or Top 40 drivel.  At Fenway, at least the night we were there, you get lots of punk rock and new wave.  We heard The Clash, U2 (of course, it's Boston), Rancid, Social Distortion, Joe Jackson, and The Pixies.  Hard to improve on listening to 'Debaser' at a ball game. 

The Bosox also have two great signature songs: 'Shipping off to Boston' by the Dropkick Murphys when Papelbon comes in; and they cap off a win with The Standels' 'Dirty Water.'  The crowd really gets in to both songs, standing, clapping, hooting, etc.  And 'Dirty Water' is a great sing-along song, too.

Finally, Boston looks like a college town in that everywhere you go everyone is wearing Red Sox gear.  You see some Patriots stuff and a decent amount of Celtics stuff - mainly Rondo, FYI - but  everyone all over town is wearing Red Sox.

Not just awesome, wicked awesome!