Thousands of Brewers fans made the pilgrimage to what is arguably the most authentic experience in professional sports last weekend at Fenway Park in Boston. While the Red Sox swept the Brewers in rather ugly fashion, I would say that the team's fans did themselves proud in Beantown.
I am old enough to remember the American League days when the Brewers and Red Sox were in the same division and playing the Red Sox was no big deal. Well, it is a big deal now as the teams had not played in Fenway since 1997 and the once-cursed Red Sox have a star-studded line-up and produced two World Series titles in the last four years.
You could tell it was going to be a fun weekend as Brewers fans filled Mitchell Airport early Friday. After landing at Logan Airport and heading into town, it became even more obvious that a relatively sizeable portion of the Brewers Nation traveled east. Having not been to Boston for about 20 years, it was good to see that little had changed except for the new Boston Garden and the "Big Dig" highway construction project, which has done wonders to improve the city's notorious traffic tie-ups.
Rain forced postponement of the game Friday night, sending the blue-clad Brewers fans out to enjoy Boston's nightlife. In true Milwaukee style, we went bowling and shot pool, although it was far from the traditional pool hall experience with a sea of red pool tables and a bowling alley with music and lights that looked more like Studio 54 than our local Red Carpet atmosphere.
Mingling with the Boston bar crowd brought to mind one of the most underrated "Spinal Tap" quotes from band manager Ian Faith. Upon being informed that the band's Boston gig is canceled, Faith said: "I wouldn't worry about it, though, it's not a big college town." One of Boston's many charms is the diverse mix of people -- from the blue-blooded aristocrats to a hard-working blue-collar ethnic population to the students that populate the area's more than 100 colleges and universities.
Aside from the bars, our only non-baseball outing was Boston's Wisconsin Dells-style duck tours. We boarded our duck (the WWII amphibious landing vehicle, not the fowl) for an outstanding four-wheeled tour of the historic city and marine adventure with wonderful views of Boston landmarks from the Charles River.
Saturday afternoon and evening were all baseball, as the teams played a regularly scheduled late afternoon game followed by the late night rainout make-up. The easiest way to describe the Fenway experience is Wrigley Field East, but with a lot more character, history and appreciation of baseball. While I am a huge fan of the Chicago ballpark, Fenway Park and its surroundings take it to another level of baseball heaven.
Entering the ballpark from bar-, food- and souvenir filled-streets on Yawkey Way or Landsdowne Street, you get that sense of traveling back in time to baseball's glory days of the early 20th century. From its asymmetrical dimensions to match the street grid, to short distances from seats to the playing field, to the legendary 37-ft. "Green Monster," Fenway Park has it all .
We enjoyed the games from a variety of locations in Fenway, but it was especially nice to sit closer to players than you even at some high school games and to watch the game from atop the Green Monster on Sunday. Putting seats up there is one of the smartest things any baseball team has done. Seeing Fenway again also recalled some great Brewers moments there, especially Ned Yost's home run in a critical late season 1982 game.
As we watched the Brewers lose to the talented but not invincible Red Sox, Milwaukee got impressive offensive performances from Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Everything else, especially the defense and pitching, were dismal from the Milwaukee perspective.
Other highlights included watching Boston's cast of stars and characters like ex-Wisconsin Timber Rattler David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and his dreadlocks, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis. It was also nice to see Brewers outfielder Gabe Kapler get a heartfelt reception from the notoriously nasty Boston fans, who appreciated his time with the Red Sox a few years back.
Our group got along well with most of the knowledgeable and friendly Boston baseball fans, as well as others in the ballpark and around the city. It should also be noted that most of the Brewers fans wore retro colors. Whether they were trying to honor the American League era or those styles are just that popular, the Fenway visit was also a reminder that it is time that the Brewers pull the trigger on new retro uniforms.
It would have been nice to see the Brewers do better on the field at Fenway, but Milwaukee fans managed to make the best of it and enjoy what the Red Sox humbly call "America's most beloved ballpark." It is hard to argue with that one.
