Just went to another couple of Bulls games this weekend which reminded me of more things I like about their product.
Programs including scorecards are free.
The scoreboard has the current pitcher’s pitch count including # of balls and strikes. Another scoreboard has the current batters previous at bats in scorebook format.
The big left field wall reminiscent of the Green Monster in Fenway has a hand operated scoreboard.
At the top of the wall is a 20’ bull that snorts smoke, waves his tail, and has glowing red eyes whenever a Bulls player hits a home run. Any player that hits the bull itself with a home run wins a steak dinner (If you hit the grass under the bull you win a salad).
Friday and Saturday nights almost always have fireworks. Immediately after the game they roll a trailer full of rockets onto the field and are ready to set them off by the time they’re done interviewing the player of the game. It’s a long show rivaling a lot of 4th of July shows I’ve seen.
Every Sunday when the game is over they let kids onto the field to run around the bases. A few times a year the Boy Scouts get to camp out on the field after the game. Once a year they allow fans to bring their dogs to the game and a couple times a year they give gifts to anyone who bikes to the park and have valet parking for the bikes.
Darth Vader used the force to levitate the first pitch on May the 4th. The team also dressed up in droid uniforms that day and each player had his face replaced by a different star wars character on the scoreboard. R2D2 hit a two run homer to win the game.
When I was living in NYC, I went to Brooklyn Cyclones games whenever I could–I was more of a Yankees fan, but the SI Yanks involved a trip to Staten Island, which meant being at the mercy of the ferry to get back home to Manhattan. Going to see the Cyclones, though, meant going to Coney Island, which was great, if a bit of a long haul on the train. I wouldn’t say I followed them–I’m a pretty damn casual fan at best. But I loved going out to the game.
(As an aside, while I didn’t go to many big league games (because Jesus H. Christ, $$$), I preferred Citi Field to Yankee Stadium as well. If it were nothing but the venues, I’d have been a total Mets fan.)
I went to a Salt Lake City Bees game when I was in Utah this summer and they had something I thought was fun. In the front row of the upper deck right above third base were two big cushy leather recliners under a big sign that said “The Best Seats In The House.” I don’t know how fans were selected to sit there but it looked like a great way to watch the game.
We bypass the nearest Single A team to go to Quakes games. Several reasons for that: the Quakes are a Dodger affiliate, the Inland Empire 66er’s aren’t, and the 66er’s play in San Bernardino, which I won’t set foot in on a bet.
But I agree, The Epicenter is a great little park, and those cheap seats behind home plate are perfect. Fast food and drink service too. Although whenever we sit there, the wife has to remind me that I’m the reason they cut off beer sales in the 7th inning. Otherwise I’d be even louder at the umps than I am now.
