The Super Bowl has come and gone, which means baseball is right around the corner! Erik and I have a couple exciting trips planned for Year 7 A.T. (After Tour).
Assuming we can get tickets without me emptying my savings account, 2014 should be the year that we finally get to the All-Star festivities together, which are being held at Target Field this season. This will actually be my 2nd time attending All-Star week - when the All-Star Game was awarded to my hometown of Milwaukee, I attended the Futures Game, but that was 12 years ago and I sat in an obstructed view section, so I don't really remember any of it. Erik and I have little interest in the game itself and hope to at least attend the Futures Game and FanFest, and if we can afford it, the Home Run Derby. Tickets for last year's derby were running upwards of $400, but that was in New York, so I'm hoping it will be more reasonable this year. Since it is so close in proximity to me this year at one of our favorite ballparks, and with Erik living in Minneapolis and working for the Twins, it kind of fell together that this was the year we should go. It will undoubtedly be an awesome time and I can already hear the crack of the bat from a Yoenis Cespedes moonshot. Ideally this trip would be paired with a game in the final season of the infamous Midway Stadium.
The other trip we are obligated to take this year is a game at Wrigley Field for its 100th Anniversary season. As vocal as I am about Wrigley being a huge overrated dump, the fact remains that it is still a historic field and a living part of baseball history, and it would be ridiculous and stubborn to not make a trip there this year. Dump or no dump, any building lasting 100 years is an accomplishment. We will be going with friends and seeing the Brewers play to make it more palatable, which according to the schedule will probably put this trip in September. The way I see it, in 5 years, the Cubs will probably be pretty good, and Wrigley will look completely different from the proposed renovations, so this season might be my last chance to enjoy a good beatdown and a urinal trough. What Brewer fan would want to pass up that opportunity? Regardless, I do not plan to return to Chicago until the stadium is fixed or the Cubs get Old Style back, whichever comes first.
There are also a lot of exciting renovations and new stadiums opening this year that I plan on visiting, most notably Charlotte and Kenosha. 55 days 'til Opening Day!
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.