It was one of those weekends that true sports fans dream about. Arriving in Boston for my son's graduation from Boston College, we all knew that the Red Sox had several home games against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals, and we also were fully aware that if the Cavaliers beat the Celtics on Friday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, that Game 7 of that series would be played May 18 at 3:30 p.m. at TD Banknorth Garden.
Luckily for us, the Red Sox and Brewers were rained out Friday night and that game was re-scheduled for Saturday night at 8:35 p.m., an odd starting time because the Sox were reluctant to re-schedule the first game of the doubleheader because it was slated for a national broadcast on Fox Sports at 3:55 p.m. The Sox won the first game 5-3.
After a graduation celebration dinner at Legal Sea Foods in Chestnut Hill, six of us piled into our rental car and headed to Fenway Park, arriving at the storied ballpark in the midst of the first inning in which the Sox tallied twice on Mike Lowell's two-out double. Lowell later hit a two-run homer in the third over the Green Monster. We found a pair of great seats for $80 ($20 less than face value) in Section 11 of the first base grandstand and sent two in our party into the stadium. We were advised to seek out the other four seats outside of Gate B, and we quickly found four together in Section 27 and snapped those up for the $50 face value price.
It had been quite awhile since I had been to Fenway Park and none of the others had ever seen a game there. We were among the 37,847 that attended the game in the very quaint, yet outdated baseball shrine. The game was a typical nightcap of a doubleheader with sloppy fielding (seven errors total) leading to three unearned runs for both sides. Former centerfielder Bill Hall botched two plays at third base for the Brewers, while shortstop Craig Counsell emulated a Little Leaguer with a miserable throw to first base on an easy chance that led to another Red Sox run in the 5th.
The Red Sox won the game 7-6 after blowing a 5-0 lead on Kevin Youklis' bloop single in the 8th inning.
We did a little scouting during the game and spoke to two security guards as we tried to talk our way into the premium seating areas, the State Street Pavilion ($165), Home Plate Pavilion Club ($215 per ticket per game) and the EMC Club ($297 per ticket per game). These plush areas do provide some of the best views of the field — along with the Green Monster seats ($160) — and are worth the price if you want to impress clients, but for friends and family you're better off in the infield grandstand seats or the Right Field Roof Deck, which carry a face value of $50 per ticket.
But, when purchasing an Infield Grandstand seat (green seats in the photo below) you do run the danger of being stuck behind a pillar. We advise you to visit www.fenwaydata.com, where fans post periodic reports about certain seats that could be obstructed. If you can get Loge Box seats ($90 face value. red seats shown below), there are no obstructions, and many of the lower to mid-level rows in the Infield Grandstands provide great views of the field without obstruction.
It's wise to keep certain things in mind when attending a game at Fenway Park. Outside of the refurbished or premium seats, the rest are downright uncomfortable, wooden seats with little or no leg room for those of us over 6-feet tall. The fan experience isn't about comfort or outstanding views. The experience is simply about the nuance and strange angles of the playing field and fences, and being awash in the color green.
The fans are no different than those found anywhere in other Major League cities, except that there must be an unwritten mandate that no matter what your age, you must wear something with Boston or the Red Sox on it. I can't imagine how much money the Red Sox make in merchandising, but suffice it to say that the Marlins' merchandise sales must generate no more than one-quarter of one percent of the merchandising monies to those of Boston. And, the Red Sox fans are knowledgeable. They understand the game. They appreciate good plays and detest botched opportunities. They cheer and moan with equal ardor and the Sox are clearly No. 1 when it comes to the pecking order of favorite teams in the city. I would say the order is as follows: 1) Red Sox, 2) Celtics, 3) Patriots, 4) Bruins.
While the impromptu trip to historic Fenway was meaningful, attending Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to watch the Celtics and Cavs was an extraordinary experience. Only two in our group of seven could be classified as huge basketball fans, and like the others who are less passionate, even they prefer the college game to that of the NBA. But, any game seven is an opportunity to witness passion and energy rarely accorded those in the regular season game. And after all, this is Boston, where the Celtics legacy of past success casts a long shadow over the other franchises in the city and the evidence hangs from the rafters high above the parquet floor in this new Garden. Championship banners and retired numbers are so plentiful, that it can take more than a quarter of a NBA game to fully digest their meaning.
We thought finding tickets for seven people for Game 7 would be a cumbersome, if not impossible task, not to mention rather pricey. But, I quickly discovered that tickets were available outside the arena, it was just a matter of using my negotiating skills to pull it off. After 15 minutes, I ran into a licensed broker and told him of my plight to find seven together, or breaking our group up into smaller lots of 2-2-3, or 3-4. Much to my surprise, he had seven together in the balcony, just one row from the very top row, but almost at mid-court. I negotiated a price, double of the face value of the tickets, and our group was able to sit together for this classic game.
The view of the floor was much better than expected, despite being one row from oblivion. We were thrilled to be in the building and when the "Lets go Celtics" chants began we knew we were in for a real treat.
The Celtics' Paul Pierce and the Cavs' Lebron James put on a great offensive show that none of us will soon forget. Pierce had one of those memorable games that will replayed in the minds of Celtics’ fans for decades, particularly if Boston goes on to win the NBA championship. The nine-year forward from Kansas scored 41 points in 44 minutes of playing time, converting 13-of-23 shots from the field (including 4-of-6 from three-point range), 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, pulled down four rebounds and added five assists.
King James did his part to keep the Cavaliers in the game throughout with 45 of his team's 92 points. Only guard Delonte West joined James in double-figure scoring for the Cavs, but clearly James was a one-man gang in the 97-92 loss. The tete-a-tete battle reminded many of the Larry Bird-Dominique Wilkins show in Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals, also won by the Celtics at home.
Interestingly, perhaps the biggest shot of the game for the Celtics was converted by 15-year NBA veteran forward P.J. Brown. Brown, who played in only 18 regular season games for Boston, has come off the bench in all 14 playoff games averaging 10 minutes of playing time. But, the former Louisiana Tech star converted all four of his shots from the field and went 2-for-2 from the line in Game 7, including a 18-foot jumper that provided the Celtics with a three-point lead after a James’ dunk cut Boston’s lead to one point with 2:20 left in the game.
The 38-year-old Brown was coaxed from retirement by the Celtics in late February. The game will be remembered as the Pierce vs. James shoot-out, but I’ll never forget the importance of Brown’s key shot on Sunday, nor will the other six in our party that enjoyed a very memorable fan experience in Boston.
Of course, not every aspect of the trip worked out perfectly. After listening to a fabulous commencement address by David McCullough (author of Truman and John Adams) and watching our eldest receive his well-earned diploma, we had too many responsibilities that didn't allow us to return to Fenway for the Sox' Monday night's game against the Royals.
But, we will always remember that our son graduated from Boston College on May 19, 2008, the same day John Lester threw a no-hitter against Kansas City. For sports fans, it wise to keep everything in perspective, no matter how difficult that can be.
Photo Credits
Banners: AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Mike Lowell: AP Photo/Mary Schwalm
Fenway Seats: AP Photo/Chase
Pierce vs. James: AP Photo/Winslow Townson
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