THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, June 14, 2012
LA has been faring well
by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer
The Dodgers! “A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur’s Court” is a story by Mark Twain about a New Englander being transported through time and space to what for him was an alien land. I recently underwent a sim- ilar journey which found me transported to Frank McCourt’s Court – Chavez Ravine, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Actually, Frank Mc- Court just sold the Dodg- ers for over $2 billion -- a record price for a pro sports franchise. He and his estranged wife Ja- mie threw the franchise into turmoil when each claimed the team during a divorce action report- edly precipitated by her affair with a chauffeur. The chaos didn’t help the club, which finished 12 games out of first place as attendance dwindled. Jamie did walk away
with $130 million in one of California’s costliest divorce actions. Thank goodness that
Frank and Jamie were un- successful in their bid to buy the Boston Red Sox in 2002, losing out to John Henry and Company. Manny Ramirez provided enough drama for Boston fans, who didn’t need to see the Sox ownership caught up in divorce pro- ceedings. Anyway, I always want-
ed to see Dodger Stadium, which at 50 years of age, is second only to Chica- go’s Wrigley Field in terms of National League longev- ity. So I took advantage of an opportunity to get to LA for a Thursday evening game against the hated Milwaukee Brewers.
with the McCourts gone, and the Dodgers were in first place. Conditioned to Fenway Park sell-outs, I asked my friend if we could get tickets, which drew a laugh. “No problemo!” We bought $35 tickets
for $15 each from some- one dumping ducats in the parking lot -- which brings me to LA Obser- vation #1. The Dodgers have HUGE parking lots! Acres and acres worth, as opposed to Fenway Park, which basically has NO parking. LA Observation #2. The
San Gabriel Mountains look especially beautiful beyond left field – even more beautiful than the Prudential Center looks from Fenway. LA Observation #3. The
parking lots were basically empty, hence the deal on tickets. “I doubt that 20,000 people will show up,” said the ducat distributor, and he was right. Whole sections were completely empty, probably due to the economy along with the hangover from the Mc- Court turmoil. LA Observation #4. In-
stead of pennants, various national flags flew atop the stadium, including, of course, Old Glory. I could understand the Canadian and Mexican flags, but why was the Commu- nist Chinese flag amongst them? I’m old school, and it just seemed in- congruous to see the Red Chinese flag flying near our star spangled banner. And a flag that looked an awful lot like a Cuban flag
flew atop the stadium as well. What’s up with that? Ozzie Guillen would be proud, I suppose. LA Observation #5.
Despite being 50 years younger than Fenway, the seats were around the same size as one would find in the ancient Boston park – always a pet peeve to people over six feet tall or who weigh over 250 pounds, and the Dodger fans I saw were the heavi- est of any I’ve ever seen anywhere. There IS an obesity epidemic in LA! LA Observation #6.
Vin Scully rocks! It was great to hear the voice of the ancient sportscaster. Born in 1927, Scully even broadcast Dodger games when the team was in Brooklyn. A wonderful man and a wonderful link to the past. LA Observation #7. A
cup of Blue Moon Beer costs $11.25. Tragic. Ri- diculous. Probably why attendance is off. As a protest, I only had three. LA Observation #8. Cut
out the egalitarian non- sense and pick a song to play in the eighth in- ning, the way the Red Sox play “Sweet Caroline.” The Dodgers let the fans vote from among three crappy songs. LA Observation #9. I
saw TWO fans wearing Nomar Garciaperra Dodg- er shirts. Incongruous. Conclusion – Dodger
Stadium is a truly historic edifice that needs to be seen by real baseball fans, folks like me who made it a point to enjoy a game at the old Yankee Stadium before it was demolished. See MOFFETT on 34
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