In Atlanta, the people are friendlier, the pace of life is slower, and baseball is still a game. The city goes out of its way to promote the Braves and the Braves go out of their way to make the baseball park a family friendly experience. Unlike other parks that we have been to where you have to fight your way to the park and pay $20+ for parking, the city of Atlanta runs a free shuttle from its equivalent of Metro Center. The operation is run with Disney like precision. You get in line, the barbershop quartet steps onto the bus, sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" while the bus fills, the drill Sergeant herds people onto the bus, the quartet finishes as the bus reaches capacity, the quartet jumps off and the bus leaves. There is a still of a dozen buses and another quartet waiting to continue the process. Within ten minutes you see Turner Field.
And when you get inside the park, there is no doubt who the hometown hero is for the Braves. Henry Aaron is everywhere. Still very active in community of Atlanta, he is the sponsor of one of the major charities that gets kids to the ballpark.
It doesn't take long after you get in the gate to be hit by the graciousness of the Southerner. People are friendlier here than at any park we have been to up to this point. There are big sections like Tooner Field devoted to ensuing that kids have a good time and don't get bored. The layout of the park is well thought out and if you have any questions it is easy to spot the folks in the "I can help you" polo shirts.
But don't be misled. The Braves are very proud of their past. On the wall of what is called the
courtyard is the brief history of the team. The longest continuously operating franchise in Major League Baseball (the Reds are the oldest team but they did not play a couple of years in the 1800's while management tried to decide if the players should be paid), the Braves fill the courtyard with all kinds of statues and memorials of the past stars.Of course there are other players such as Phil Niekro, Ty Cobb, and Red Scheondienst, but Hammerin' Hank is everywhere.
Henry frozen in time following his 715th Home Run which broke Babe Ruth's record.
And it is worth noting that unlike other players, there are no astrisks or steroids associated with Henry.When you get into the park, you cant miss the spot where Henry Aaron hit his titanic 555 foot steroid free Home Run to center field.
Oh yeah--did I mention that Henry Aaron did his thing without steroids and growth hormones?There is a "eatin' place" overlooking the field from dead center. They have some of the best ballpark food that we have come across so far--and a full bar to go along with it. Once again, Southern hospitality was present in abundance. One of the things that we ordered was not quite ready, and we were told "you all just go sit over yonder and we will bring it to ya." This sure ain't Boston.
We were fortunate enough to be in Atlanta for the 4th of July. The tribute to the troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan was really moving. Then they had a fly over of 4 World War II fighters for emphasis. Unlike many other stadiums that we had visited, here, when the National Anthem was sung, everyone took their hats off and there were people in the stands that actually knew the words.
As would be appropriate on the 4th of July, the Braves had an extensive fireworks display. It lasted for about 45 minutes and it was executed in sync with some good country music.
Now came the real test. was the transit system back to downtown Atlanta going the be as smoothly run as the trip to the park. The answer was a resounding yes! We exited the park to find four buses loading at one time and four waiting in line. The Turner Field Security people, a few National Guardsmen, and the Atlanta Police had established 8 lines that corresponded to the front and back door of the buses. They were sending four full buses away every 3 minutes. Further, the slow lane to city center was coned off for bus use only. This was a well oiled machine. There were even comments from visitors asking whey their clubs couldn't do this.
The Braves won of the 4th of July as would be appropriate for the home team. We had found a park that was in a class of its own.
Unfortunately, the Braves couldn't pull off a miracle two games in a row, but the experience of visiting the stadium was hardly diminished. We were continually amazed by the crowd. No drunks like Boston, no whining about why can't I have this or my beer isn't cold enough. There is a lust for life in Atlanta that we had not seen in other parks. Even the players sat on the field after the game of the 4th with their kids to watch the fireworks.I suppose that no one will be surprised where we placed Atlanta in the ranking of stadiums:
Thus far the breakdown is:
- Atlanta
Distantly followed by:
- Baltimore
- Toronto
- New York
- Cleveland
- Washington
- Boston
No comments:
Post a Comment