History repeated
There was plenty of history on hand Saturday night at the Coliseum for the big game between the Red Sox and Dodgers (not that anyone really cared, but the Sox won 7-4), and fans and players alike were able to experience baseball with old timey configurational oddities- how about a 201 foot left field line,
or the centerfielder covering second like a beer league softball game?- but mostly people were able to take in a memorable baseball experience with 115,300 of their closest friends, a new world record. It was a novelty game, yes, writes Jim Alexander of the PE, but it was a really, really cool novelty, and as the LAT's Kurt Streeter points out, one dripping with highly entertaining nostalgia.
Everyone, from players to fans (possibly excluding the managers, who have important decisions to make) had fun. Especially Roger Owens.
Were you there? Share your experiences at Blue Notes, or at kambrothers@yahoo.com, or here, or here.
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dodger game at the coliseium was more like a california prison, gangs of drunk and aggressive men walked the courts looking for trouble and a lack of police enforcement.
Posted by: latimesjunkie | March 30, 2008 at 09:54 PM
The Dodgers vs World Champ Red Sox was the highest-attended baseball game in history. Good for owner Frank McCourt. Painful if you happened to be a Red Sox fan.
I filmed the aftermath of Dodger-fans attacking an Angeleno-resident group of Red Sox fans. Watch the emotional (expletive-laced) video on DemoCastMediaNews.com.
Barbarism at the Coliseum used to take place in the arena with Romans attacking Christians.
The barbarians of today sit in right next to you in every stadium. Savagery is no-longer limited to the field, as today's home-team fans verbally and physically attack innocent, visiting-team fans rooting in their midst.
Baseball is a game built on civility, rules, and sportsmanship. Home-team fans, however, no longer behave civilly towards visiting fans - and even well-mannered visiting fans are now harassed- even violently attacked, for attending a day at the park.
I've witnessed increasingly violent abuse at the past 3 Dodgers' games I've attended. No visiting-team fans should subject themselves (and their friends and families) to the reality of verbal and physical attack now routine at Dodger games.
If Major League Baseball cares about keeping fans coming to its ball games, they'd better take a close look at Frank McCourt's franchise managing. It had better activate a zero-tolerance policy towards the belicose culture prevailing against visiting fans attending today's games - not just in L.A., but league-wide.
Posted by: DemoCast | March 30, 2008 at 11:37 PM
I was there as a Red Sox fan. I had to go. It was my birthday, my friends were all there sporting Dodger blue. I received several threats throughout the day. Nobody acted on those threats. I can't say I was really intimidated at any point. It's what you would expect from a typical Dodgers game. The madness line to take a shuttle back to Dodgers stadium would be good reason to begin a riot. There was absolutely no signs directing people, no crowd control. I have to recognize the LAPD and DOT for taking care of pedestrians along the exterior. They were awesome!
Posted by: Ricardo | March 31, 2008 at 06:47 PM
I can't imagine what the shuttle line was like after the 9th inning; we left after the 7th inning and it wrapped all the way around the Coliseum like a surreal nightmare. We walked up Figueroa and found a cab back to Dodger Stadium, and it was the best $20 I ever spent. I assume someone got killed at some point, because the people cutting into the line were being threatened with major bodily injury.
Great game, but it didn't help that absolutely no signs or personnel were assigned to direct people back to their cars.
Posted by: Tully Moxness | April 01, 2008 at 07:46 AM