Remember when going to an Orioles? game meant a full (or nearly full) house,with fans hanging on literally every pitch? If you do, then you?ll really appreciate a trip to U.S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox? run to a championship last season has energized a franchise that, for many years, was the clear weak sister of Chicago?s two major league teams.
No, they haven?t passed the Cubs in terms of overall popularity here ? and they might never actually do that ? but they?re catching up.
Lately, it?s impossible to go anywhere in town, from north to south, without seeing a lot of White Sox gear: caps, jackets, T-shirts, whatever.
I don?t think it?s just the tourists, either, unless Chicago has suddenly acquired the same kind of vacation cachet as Orlando, Fla. Sox stuff outnumbered Cubs gear at least 10 to 1 everywhere I went.
Last weekend?s impressive three-game sweep of the division-leading Tigers ? including a shutout, plus some come-from-behind theatrics ? was just what the doctor ordered to keep the turnstiles spinning down the stretch. Friday?s game was “Elvis Night” at the ballpark, a promotion that makes you wonder why every team doesn?t pay tribute to the King once a year.
(Today, by the way, is the 29th anniversary of his passing, if indeed, he?s dead.)
Fans were encouraged to come dressed as Presley, and many complied, though most went with the later, overweight Elvis look. Lots of jumpsuits and capes, lots of fake sideburns and chrome sunglasses, and those fans were allowed to parade on the warning track just prior to gametime.
Outside, there were Elvis impersonators singing at every entrance. An Elvis sang the anthem, though he was upstaged by “The E Team,” a group of skydiving impersonators who landed on the field while he was warbling.
During the game, whenever the White Sox did something cheer-worthy, you?d hear the real Presley?s voice over the PA system saying, “Thank you … thank you very much.”
During at-bats, White Sox players were seen on the video board with Elvis hair and sunglasses superimposed over the photos. It was a happening, so much so that Jose Contreras had a no-hitter through five innings and barely anyone noticed.
Later, Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski went deep to put the icing on a complete-game shutout, 5-0. The White Sox were the first team to shoot actual fireworks for Chicago home runs under Bill Veeck?s ownership; these days, the displays are louder and more spectacular than what were essentially big sparklers 45 years ago.
Real attention-getters, believe me.
U.S. Cellular Field ? formerly new Comiskey Park ? opened the year before Camden Yards to much criticism. It was too bland, lacking any real architectural pizzazz.
The team itself was competent enough, but, as someone said years ago, there was no “there” there. That has changed, to say the least. Yes, it?s the same stadium, but the way the product is presented to the consumer is wholly different.
Oriole Park remains a great venue for baseball, but it has lost its novelty status. Would it hurt to “borrow” an idea or two from another franchise in order to jazz up the place a little?
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach Phil at [email protected].
