Saturday, June 25, 2011

Milwaukee, WI - Bernie Brewer

5/29/2011 - Milwaukee Brewers -Miller Park

Our favorite stop of the trip, by far. Milwaukee is a city with a nice amount of space around it which leads to unclogged roads, cheaper parking and as a result, a lot less hassle when it comes to getting to your parking place. And once there, you look around and see tailgating. At a baseball game. I'm not talking about a few people here or there unwrapping some subs or something. This is full-fledged, get out the Weber, throw the pigskin around the parking lot stuff throughout the entire lot. At that moment it occurred to me that between Brewers, Badgers and Packers games, these people have - within an hour radius - about 100 days of tailgating a year. Before I could even comment, Mrs. Mascot Hunter looked at me and said "I think we're home!"
As we made our way from the Uecker lot over to the entrance, we were nearly run over by the Racing Sausages who were on their way to meet their adoring fans and pose for photo-ops. After snagging a few pics ourselves, we entered
Miller Park and were immediately overwhelmed by the smells of cooked meats. The stadium opened in 2001 and is unique in that it has the only fan-shaped retractable roof in baseball. Due to storms in the area, the roof was closed for our game and it struck me that it was the first time that I ever watched an indoor game. Besides the roof, the most noticeable aspect of the stadium is Bernie's slide, a bright yellow, two-story sliding board that juts out of the left field bleachers and is used anytime that the Brewers hit a home run or clinch a victory.
We had purchased tickets on StubHub and managed to land just beyond the first base bag in the back of the lower section. Miller Park has one of the most wide-ranging seating prices you'll find, with tickets ranging from the $100, right-on-top-of-the-action seats all the way down to the Uecker seats, a $1 tickets that offers you a moderately obstructed view. We walked all through the stadium and made it as high as Bernie's Terrace, which is the 400 level high above left field, and I can tell you that the $35 each we paid for the lower bowl was well worth it. Acrophobics beware - while Bernie's Terrace is cheaper and gets you closer to the moustached man himself, it is WAAAAAAAAY up there.

The most famous part of the game is, of course, the Famous Sausage Race. Taking place in the middle of the 6th inning, it is the daily race between the five Famous Klement's Racing Sausages (video coming soon). Our winner was Hot Dog and while I made it my goal for the day to eat all five of the contestants, my stomach ran out of room after Bratwurst, Polish Sausage and Hot Dog. Although their website states that racers must be employees of the Milwaukee Brewers, it has been my mission for many years now to be in this race. Hopefully one day, the good folks in the land of brats and beer will make an exception for a chubby guy with a dream!

The only miss on our trip was Bernie, who hung out in his dugout for the entire game. It is to be noted that the Brewers offer a Bernie's slide experience, which allows you to enter the stadium early, meet and greet with Bernie and even slide down his slide. Unfortunately, one of our group did not meet the 8 years old and older criteria (plus it's $200 a person), so it'll have to wait for next time. And yes, there will certainly be a next time!!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Meet the Sausages

Brett Wurst (Bratwurst)













Stosh (Polish Sausage)

















Guido (Italian Sausage)

















Frankie Furter (Hot Dog)

















Cinco (Chorizo)

Monday, June 6, 2011

Detroit, MI - Paws

5/27/2011 - Detroit Tigers - Comerica Park

The first stop on our road trip was Detroit, Michigan, home to the Detroit Tigers. Their current home, Comerica Park, opened in 2000 as a replacement for Tiger Stadium and is located in the heart of downtown Detroit. Our path into town took us right down Michigan Avenue and while it wasn't quite lined with the potholes and burning cars that the news makes it out to be, you immediately realize that this once thriving automotive city has indeed fallen on hard times. Parking next to the stadium was easy and an average cost for a ballgame ($20) and the giant Tigers at the main entrance were a very unique touch.

It was Polish Heritage Night in Detroit, which is why our friend Paws here is dressed up a little different from his usual garb. We were treated to pregame dancing on the field by costumed groups and the Polish National Anthem, which kinda sounded like a polka and really made me feel like I should be drinking and singing along. And before I get any Polish hatemail, I mean that as a good thing!

Detroit is known for their Coneys so we ordered up a few only to be greeted by this cheese, chili and onion-covered caloric monstrosity. I assure you that after some digging with a knife and fork that I was able to locate the hot dog inside of this mess and that it was delicious. Even after eating these, the smell of fresh-roasted cinnamon pecans that took over the concourse was too much to resist and we picked up a few bags to get us through the night (and as it turned out, the rest of our roadtrip).

The weather was downright frigid but it didn't stop the fans from packing the place for the Friday night game against the Red Sox. And despite Detroit's reputation as, let's just say not the most kid-friendly town in the US, Comerica Park was amazing for having a little guy. They had a kids area as well as a ferris-wheel and a merry-go-round for a nominal fee to keep everyone happy. As for the game itself, the Tigers fell behind early and were never really able to handle Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. Even with the cold, the rain and the score, the fans stayed until the end, belting out Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" in the middle of the eighth inning. Unfortunately, the team that was "born and raised in south Detroit" came up short 6-3.

We were on a tight schedule so there wasn't any time for sightseeing while in Detroit but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to suggest. Detroit is the birthplace of Motown and the Hitsville U.S.A. building still stands as a museum to one of the greatest musical styles ever produced. Right across the street from Comerica is the Fox Theater, which is an amazing building both inside and out and based on the names of upcoming acts currently gracing the facade, is doing its job to keep commerce flowing into a proud city that seems to be on its way to getting firmly back on its feet.

Next post... Meet the Sausages (or is it Meat the Sausages?)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

THE ROAD TRIP - 2011

We just pulled back into town after one of the more epic baseball road trips imaginable. We (that would be yours truly, Mrs. Mascot Hunter and our 16 month old Junior member) took an 11 day swing to MLB games in Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago and Cincinnati. Keep checking back over the next week or two as I get the individual games posted - as well as some other things from our journey - but for now I can offer a picture of Mr. Redlegs with a squirt gun and a summary of our trip, by the numbers...

11 days
7 states (PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, WV)
2,078 miles
14 tubed meat products consumed
8 mascot photos
96 degrees - high temp @ Cincinnati on 6/4
52 degrees (and raining) - low temp @ Detroit on 5/27
$267.03 spent on gasoline
4,870 La Quinta rewards points earned
$885.39 spent on food and entertainment
1 pound lost (apparently a diet of stadium food just sheds the pounds)

Next post... Detroit Tigers