Gettin’ Carried Away

One of my travel goals is to visit all 30 Major League Baseball parks before I turn 30. I’ve been to Comiskey/U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox), Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees), Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox), Angel Stadium (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers). Last week, I went to my seventh baseball stadium: PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Getting to PNC Park

We stayed a few miles from the city, so our hotel shuttle bus dropped us off right in front of the (6th Street) Roberto Clemente Bridge, which is shut down for a short time on game days to only allow for pedestrian traffic. Walking across the bridge almost seems like a right of passage… to see a great ballpark. If you’re not a baseball fan, you should know that the Pirates team is pretty much the saddest franchise in the MLB. Just watch the first half hour of the movie Major League (about a terrible Cleveland Indians team) to get an idea of just how bad the Pirates can play sometimes.

If you do drive to the game, you’ll have to cross one of the other two bridges on either side of 6th Street in order to get across the Allegheny River. However, I recommend walking (if you are close enough) or taking a taxi/hotel shuttle to the park.

Once we crossed the bridge, we decided to walk around the park before picking up our tickets from the Will Call window. Side note: since the team isn’t all that great, you could probably get tickets the day of the game. However, if the Pirates are playing the Cardinals, the Cubs, the Red Sox or the Yankees, the game might sell out, as fans of those teams travel to Pittsburgh to see the game. One of the first unique things I noticed about PNC Park was the ticket machines scattered around the perimeter. I’ve seen machines like this at movie theaters, but I’ve never seen one outside a baseball park. This seems pretty handy if the lines for the ticket windows are pretty long; however, you really don’t have to wait in much of a line these days.

Pre-game Inside PNC Park

After we picked up our $26 tickets, we shuffled into the ballpark (1.5 hours before game time), we made our way up to the 100-level and walked right in. I was surprised no one was there to check our tickets, so I can only assume that anyone can walk around on the 100-level concourse, regardless of where your seat is located. You can’t do that in other stadiums. When we found our section, however, there was an attendant there to check and make sure we were headed to the right seats.

After walking down what seemed like 50 stairs, we finally arrived to the lower box seats along the first baseline. Another attendant escorted us to our seats, and he even had a towel with him to wipe down both of them. I really didn’t expect that. I was caught a little off guard, so I didn’t get a chance to the tip the guy. I felt I like I should have after that kind of service. It’s amazing what $26 will get you when a team is playing so poorly. We were 10 rows up from the field and about 150 feet from home plate! We started taking pictures and people-watching when one of the mascots, the Parrot, came out and started riling up the crowd. He even played with some of the Arizona Diamonbacks players a little bit while they did their pregame warmups.

One thing I must give to the Pirates: for being the worst team in the MLB, they sure have the best opening. When you’re at PNC Park, you’ll see several opening videos with really cool graphics. This includes stereotypical, “arrgghh-me-matey” pirate talking about the battle ahead and a pirate ship battle to the tune of Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” score from the Carmina Burana opera. Finally, a Superman opening announces that starting lineup.

Food and Drink at PNC Park

After about five innings, we decided to head back up to the concourse to look for a bite to eat. PNC has everything from hot dogs and pizzas to pierogi and kielbasa. I came across a Pop-A-Dukes stand in Pop’s Plaza (behind the third base side) that sold gyros, and since I’d never had a gyro at a sporting event before, that’s what I decided to eat. I opted for a Pepsi (I prefer Pepsi parks to Coca-Cola parks). My boyfriend chose a good ol’ fashion hot dog and a Yeungling, a locally brewed beer. As far as beer goes, you can really get anything: Miller, Bud, Coors, Iron City, Lebatt, etc. If you don’t want to spend money on food, PNC is one of the few parks that allows you to bring in outside food and unopened, non-alcoholic bottles of water or pop.

All in all, PNC Park is a great ball field. I think it’s worth it to make a trip out to Pittsburgh just for a game. And hey, Heinz Field is just up the street, so maybe you can catch a concert or a Steelers game while you’re there, too. 7 down, 23 to go!

The truth is, while I love traipsing all over the globe, the nomadic lifestyle is not for me. I like being grounded. I like having a place to come home, any given time, 365 days a year. Plus, the more I’ve traveled, the more I realized just how much I love being home. For one thing, I love baseball. My family has had season tickets to White Sox games for a few years now, and I cherish every set of three to four hours I get to spend inside Comiskey (aka U.S. Cellular Field). However, when I travel, I miss out on some pretty cool things, usually sports related.

Paris 2005: I would never turn down a trip overseas, even when it’s during the Crosstown Classic. While I was on my Parisian adventure, the Chicago Cubs came to the Southside to take on my good guys in black. I missed the whole series, which isn’t that big of a deal. However, I also missed what people were calling an “epic fight” between the two catchers (at the time), A.J. Pierzynski of the Sox and Michael Barrett of the Cubs.

New Jersey 2007: I booked a flight to New Jersey late in 2006, planning to visit my friend Matt whom I had just met while studying abroad in London. Little did I know, the Chicago Bears were going to make it to their first Super Bowl since the year I was born! And when was my flight home? Right when the game started, of course. Even though we lost, I missed out on huge parties with my friends and family. However, I’m glad I got to spend a lot of time with a new friend of mine.

Wyoming 2009: Again, I missed the Crosstown Classic. And while nothing too exciting happened, I did learn that tons of my friends got together before, during and after the game. When you’re either working or traveling, you kind of miss being around your friends. I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that I was visiting them down at school when we were in college.

Luckily, I was home yesterday and I went to the Sox game. Little did I know I would witness a part of history, as Mark Buehrle pitched his second no-hitter and his first perfect game. And here’s the funny thing… I missed his first no-hitter because I was on a day trip. Hah!

Of course, I’m still going to travel, but I am very thankful for the times I am home in Chicago. It just goes to show you that you don’t have to travel far in order to see and do some amazing things.

This past weekend, I attended the 2009 Chicago Blackhawks Convention at the Hilton on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. I met a lot of players, participated in Q&A sessions and was just… in awe… listening to these professional athletes give advice, talk about their personal lives and pick on their teammates.

However, with travel always on the brain, I began to think, “These guys are some of the most well-traveled people in this room!”

~*Chicago Blackhawks Andrew Ladd, Duncan Keith & Craig Adams in Nashville*~

Professional athletes, especially in the NHL, end up traveling all over the world. On the Blackhawks, for example, we’ve got a Swede, some Slovakians and tons of Canadians. And… these guys are traveling to Switzerland and Finland this fall to open the hockey season! Afterwards, they’ll come back to Chicago for a bit, play a game or two, and then embark on a seven-month journey all over the United States (and parts of Canada).

~*Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould and my bf Randy in Boston*~

I took my love of sports to another level by combining it with my passion for travel. Sometimes, I start looking for trips based on where my favorite teams are playing. I flew to Nashville earlier this year to see the Hawks ice the Predators (but they lost; sad day), and I’ve seen the White Sox play in New York and Boston. Even if my Chicago boys are not playing on the road, I’ll gladly take in a game just so I can see a given stadium (check back in August for my recap of a Pittsburgh trip to see the riates vs. the Diamonbacks at PNC Park).

~*Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook in Nashville*~

Aside from the game, the fans and the girls, I’d like to think that if I asked a Hawks player, “What’s the best part of being a professional athlete?” he might say, “I get to see so many amazing places.”

I mean, I’m sure these guys don’t have A LOT of down time, but they do get to go out occasionally. Two of the above photos show you that some of the Hawks were ready for a little night on the town, the night before the game! Perhaps that’s why they lost… hah! Either way, traveling has to be one of the best perks of being a professional athlete.