Wrigley Sucks

[badgerfan.tgf]

I now officially know why Cubs fans invade Miller Park every time they play us up here. Going to Wrigley Field sucks. I've been their before but today was my first game down there since Miller Park opened.

 

Traffic on Addison and surrounding streets is insane, in other words there is basically one main road to drive to and from the stadium. Obviously there is no parking lot, so you have to either pay $20-$30 to park in a small lot or circle around for parking on the street. Then there is the issue of tickets. I didn't have tickets for the game today so I had to find some on the street. The first scalper I approached wanted $85 each for nosebleed seats in the 500 level....he would NOT budge from the price even though the Brewers were already up 5-0. Walked further and found a bunch of ticket broker offices with people selling tix on the street. They wanted $75 for bleachers and $45 for standing room tickets. I ended up talking to a younger guy walking past who had two extras and offered them to me and the "ticket broker people" were irate. They started shouting at him and yelling for their "bouncer" types that "the guy in the red is trying to sell tickets." Ended up following him to the stadium and he sold us 2 bleacher tickets for $30/each. One thing I noticed on my adventure of trying to get tickets was how high face value was. I guess I'm not used to it, but $45 to sit in the 400 level or $42 to sit in bleachers seems a bit high.

 

Now that I was in to the stadium was the issue of finding a seat. The bleachers are general admission and of course they were packed. Now I know I was about a half hour late but there was not a seat to be found, basically since most people hoard seats and say that every empty seat is taken. My friend and I ended up standing til the 7th inning when we snuck into a "premium" section of the bleachers with actual seats that happened to be empty. The pathetic thing was that half the people in the bleachers weren't even paying attention or were too busy trying to buy beer every half inning.

 

Of course the fact that the Brewers lost in heartbreaking fashion didn't help my opinion but I now know why Cubs fans come up to MP in droves. It's just as fast to get to Milwaukee from most Chicago suburbs, parking is cheap and easy in/out, tickets are roughly 50% less than the cost of tickets at Wrigley, and our stadium is much more fan friendly. Only perk of Wrigley is that there are a lot of bars within a short walk of the park; but on the whole the place is a nightmare to go to more than once a year. So basically we'll never be able to "take back Miller Park" when opposing fans would rather buy our tickets at a huge discount with much less game day hassle. I can't blame them at all.

[Ennder]

Wrigley is a crap hole pure and simple, I don't want to take it , they can have it sadly enough.

[SeriesFinale]

A beautiful place to see a game...I always took the train in so parking was never an issue

[Oldcity]

I was surprised at how small the stadium looks. I basically didn't see it until I was a block away. It looks like a horse racing track to me from the outside.

[burniebrewer]

BadgerFan--

 

All that and you forgot to mention the bathroom troughs! That's what makes it so classy.

 

I'm on board with you though, I'll never set foot in that dump again.

[naivin]

I have a good friend who is a season ticket holder, so I usully go a couple times a year. Its fun most of the time (I usually try to avoid Brewer games, just as I avoid Cub games at Miller Park). He lives in teh North suburbs and it typically takes twice as long to get to Wrigley as it does to get to Miller Park. Every time he comes up for a game, he can't help but comment on that. The atmosphhere outside is ok, although the Ashclowns really make my hair hurt. Inside, the field is beautiful and charming and all that, and my buddies' seats are stellar. Its worth the trip on a nice summer afternoon once or twice a year, but that's it.

[homer]

I really enjoy Wrigley when I have really good seats on a nice summer day (I mean, really, even when the roof is open at MP you still feel like you are indoors) but the obstructed views are awful. The bathrooms (when you can find them) are ridiculously awful, the concourses are awful, the food lines are long, and, well, you have to watch the Cubs.

 

But Wrigleyville, to me, is pretty neat. My friend and I were commenting that it's kind of like Regent St after a Badger game - everyone is in a kind of festive mood, everyone is hammered, and there are plenty of cute girls walking around in various states of undress. Granted, they are Cubs' fans so there's not a chance in hades you'd ever want to date them but at least they provide some eye candy. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Bring Back the Stein]

I lived on Addison, two blocks from Wrigley, for about four years. I enjoyed the neighborhood. The Cubs fans, most of them from ridiculous north suburbs, devalued it. They peed on my stoop, drove their SUVs stupidly and, with their sense of entitlement and wretched manners, made life miserable. Yesterday, and I don't want to mention anything else, they celebrated their victory by throwing trash on the ballfield. I was with a group of Cubs fans and was in amaze as they threw plastic bottles onto the field as they cheered. It made no sense.

 

I was left with the undying conclusion that we are morally superior to them. And therefore the games with the Cubs are proxy morality plays, with them in the role of Lucifer. God, how I hate their whining, their ballclub. Cleanse me, Ben Sheets.

[BrewCrewRising]

Quote:

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I was left with the undying conclusion that we are morally superior to them. And therefore the games with the Cubs are proxy morality plays, with them in the role of Lucifer. God, how I hate their whining, their ballclub. Cleanse me, Ben Sheets.

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That is an awesome post plain and simple. Well put!

 

I like Wrigley well enough, but it's flaws are many. I do think once you are in your seat, assuming you are seated in on of the 22,000 seats that are worth watching a game from, that's a good place to see a game. The fact that Cubs have never won a world series there make me like it even more.

 

It's the "Fans" in the seats that always kill it for me. Yesterday we had these chatty girls behind us who would have been better off at a bar than at a game. But I'm sure to them it is a bar.

 

My sister is part of a season ticket package with some friends (an embarrasment to me, but sometimes I can score the Crew tickets off her for face value) and the fans in that section are actually pretty hilarious. They're pretty knowledgable and jaded, and they have been pretty complimentary of the Crew in the last few seasons.

 

It's easy to find the negativity with Wrigley especially after a game like yesterday. But at the end of the day, it's not like all our fans are saints or anything. It's just that when we witness Brewer fans being dorks, we just think that, 'hey, at least they have good taste in baseball teams.'

[naivin]

Yeah that whole AshClown throwing garbage in the field thing is one of my biggest issues - and is a big symptom of the problem with the whole culture of Cubs baseball. Seems to becoming more the rule than the exception. Why? Because the Cubs do nothing about it, which amounts to tacit endorsement.

[berniebrewer4life]

Quote:

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My sister is part of a season ticket package with some friends (an embarrasment to me, but sometimes I can score the Crew tickets off her for face value)

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I actually put myself on thier season ticket wait list, for that exact reason alone. Sell off about 80% of the tickets, make a killing, and go to the Brewers/Cubs games for cheap(not to mention that by the time i am picked, i will have enough money to pay for them). Back to the point, i agree with you on the bathrooms. Whenever someone tells me "oh Wrigley is a great place to watch a ballgame", i always add the old "unless you have to go to the bathrooms". Troughs wouldn't bother me if they put some ice in there. The drip system they have makes me want to vomit(not an easy task either).

[Invader3K]

I've never been to Wrigley, and can't say I have a ton of interest in going (I hate driving in Chicago to begin with). I really can't believe they haven't replaced that dump by now. Maybe when the Tribune company finally sells, some changes will take place.

[bobskube]

Every time that the Brewers have a series here, there is someone who inevitably blasts Cub fans and Wrigley.

 

I do agree that Cub fans are annoying as a whole and half of the bad fans ruin it for half of the good Cub fans. Being a Brewer fan that has relocated to Chicago, I can really understand that. However, all Brewer fans are not saints either. Plenty of dirt bags in Miller Park every game. I wonder how some of them get in.

 

Anyway, Wrigley also has its flaws; no doubt about that. Traffic sucks, troughs disgusting, and food sucks. It does have a certain charm though and has an awesome neighborhood to stay and party in.

 

My advice is that if you hate Wrigley so much-don't come. Quit complaining about things that you can avoid. Miller Park is an awesome place to watch a game. Go there.

[flosses like fossas]

to an extent, i agree with most of what has been said on both sides of the argument here.

 

personally, the only time i don't like going to wrigley is when the brewers lose. that said, there are ways to go about things that will drastically improve any wrigley outing for a brewer fan. here are some recommendations:

 

a) buy your tickets in advance, the further in advance the better. it doesn't take much legwork on stubhub/craigslist to turn up an acceptable ticket price - if not an outright deal. also, ask anyone you know who lives in chicago to put out feelers with friends or at work. many times there are season tickets out there to be had via the "friends" approach. this saves you all the hassle of street haggling.

 

b) park on the north side and take the train down, if you do it right you don't have to transfer trains or sit in traffic.

 

c) taking both of these steps will help you get to the game on time/early, which is integral for bleacher seats.

 

don't stop going to wrigley, we've got to be heard.

[pitchleague]

Just wondering, as I've neither been to Wrigley nor been a woman . . .

 

If the guys use troughs are the women's bathrooms "normal" with stalls or did they plant bushes of ivy in there for the women to squat behind?

[uecker9]

That is a good question pitch. Wrigley probably predates Sir Thomas Crappers' invention( I know, it wasn't him). Or maybe it's older than woman.

I actually like to get my Wrigley fix in once or twice a year with the family, sitting behind the Brewer "bullpen" area.

[cruiserx43]

I guess I enjoy Wrigley for what it is and for its atmosphere. If you are just there for the game you are really missing out as that is what brings the Cubs fans if you will to the game win or lose, becuase it's not the product.

 

Some fans are knowledgeable, many are not but that's no different than Crew fans. Preplan or get advice from other your FIB Brew fans to make the trip more enjoyable. Never park downtown take the train becuase you can often drink onboard.

 

As previously mentioned the Crew fanbase is far from galant. There were many out in Wrigleyville Sat night and they took their liberty trying to hit on my girl and some of her friends (I can't really blame them) and laughed as she put them in their place.

 

But anyway trying to compare a 100yr old park built in downtown of the country's biggest cities to Miller Park which is built right off the freeway is a bit of a stretch. There was actually talk of trying to build the park downtown Milwaukee years ago if I remember, but the parking issue is something that could never be overcome.

 

I will be at Wrigley for the Giants series to get my chance at the ROID ball and will moon everyone when the yell at me to throw it back.

[hawing]

are the women's bathrooms "normal" with stalls

 

Oh, let me help out the nation here. Yes. I haven't been there since 2001 (at one of those games postponed until early October in the wake of the terror attacks), but there were stalls for the ladies then.

 

In fact, I was in the restroom when Sosa had an ITP home run. I was mildly disappointed to miss the feat, but less so upon realizing that it was Sammy.

[homer]

Quote:

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There was actually talk of trying to build the park downtown Milwaukee years ago if I remember, but the parking issue is something that could never be overcome.

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Not to take this way off topic, but that wasn't really the reason they built it where they did.

[cruiserx43]

Not to take this way off topic, but that wasn't really the reason they built it where they did.

 

Nor did I say it was. I like the park where it is as access is excellent.

 

On another note- The Crew plays one more series down in Chicago later this year and I would be willing to go downtown and assist BFnetters enjoy their trip a bit more. The key is to do as little driving as possible. Come up with a game plan and you will find yourself having a much better time. If anyone is interested let me know or maybe we can start a forum topic to coordinate.

[Baldkin]

I have an honest question... why are the seats in Wrigley numbered 1-12 then 108-120 or something like that. All within the same section?

 

Oh, and seat #108 is the best seat in the section too, supposedly.