Indians v. Tigers @ Comerica Park

Yesterday, during our Easter celebrations, Todd, Ted, and Nancy decided that there would be no better way to spend our Easter Monday than driving up to Detroit to see the Indians play the Tigers. After seeing the myriads of empty seats for Sunday's game on the telly, we figured it would be a cinch to nab some choice seats and root, root, root, for the visiting team. Since the game was a 1:05pm start, Ted and Nancy had to set out from Strongsville at 8 to pick Todd up at 10 to get to the park by noon. Or so we thought.

As we wound our way through Bascom, Fostoria, and Van Buren on our way to I-75, all was peachy and keen; the sun was shining and God was on His throne and all was well in the kingdom. We merged nicely onto I-75 heading towards Toledo, the city of glass, and all was smooth as a pig's ear, until we entered the great state of Michigan. Apparantly, the folks in the Michigan DOT have decided that they wish to act as gatekeepers and discourage entry into their fair state from the south. For, not only were their miles of construction impeding our path, but the blighters couldn't decide which side of the road to put us on. For miles and multiple signs we were instructed by sign and barrel to merge right, merge right. Form a single lane to the right. And we did so. Slowly. Sometimes at a dead stop. Then, with no warning, and still no sign of any work whatsoever actually being done, the barrels and signs moved us all to a single lane on the left. Well. One can only say that much stronger words than "consternation" and "golly" were being thought by the drivers on this fine, sunny morning.
Instead of arriving comfortably an hour before game time, we found ourselves hustling up to the ticket window scant minutes before game time. At that point, we were faced not with bored ticket sellers pondering yet another dull day at Comerica Park watching the hapless Tigers slog through another losing season, but with a throng of Tiger faithful decked out in blue and orange waiting in long lines to see the game. Arrgh! As we stepped into line, an overly friendly man clad in a Tigers hat, shirt, and leather jacket ,spied Todd's Tribe jersey and struck up a one-sided conversation about Jacob's Field, the Tiger's hopes in coming years, and other inanities while draped over Todd's shoulder like a mothy afghan that desperately needs cleaning. By the time Ted was able to procure our tickets, the score was 2-1 Indians in the top of the third inning.

Fortunately for us, the Tribe was just getting their run-production machine going. As we settled into our seats and watched our first inning at Comerica Park, the Indians rallied to score a total of six runs in the inning en route to a 10-2 victory. Our seats were in the Terrace Level of 118. That is, third base side, just at the edge of the infield/outfield border. The seats were at the top of the lower section. The seating concept was interesting. Instead of normal stadium seats in rigid rows, our seats were wide, wooden chairs that could be moved about. Between each two seats was a small end-table. So, we were able to rearrange our seats so that the three of us were in a row with tables on either end to place our drinks, food, etc. It's really quite comfortable, and there could be no complaining about the view.

What we could complain about, however, was the temperature and wind. The scoreboard thermometer listed temps as high as 64, and the sky was cloudless and blue, but the wind blew stiffly right into our faces for the duration of the game. Besides knocking down more than one homerun bound ball into the waiting glove of an outfielder, the wind made us quite chilly. The overhang also shaded us from any sun. While these seats may be fantastic in the summer, on a mid-April Monday, they were almost cold. To be fair, Ted and Nancy thought they WERE cold. Todd is a mutant. Ted battled the elements with two--count'em--trips to the pizza stand. Nancy buttoned, zipped, and tied every attachement to her jacket. Todd even put on his jacket. Between innings, we could go to a patio area that had nice sunshine and a glorious carousel with hand-painted tigers.

As the final Tiger was retired, and the Indians chalked up win number eight, I looked about and decided that this was a very nice ballpark. With a capacity of just over 40,000, Comerica Park is an intimate park. The Tigers have successfully integrated the teams storied history into the park with statues and displays of the glories of yesteryear. The team has also taken full advantage of their team mascot and placed prowling stone tigers all over the place. Fans can never forget whose house they're in. The fans and workers were the icing on the cake, as they welcomed us Clevelanders into their midst with nary an unkind word. There was nice talk about how Jacob's Field helped downtown Cleveland (and the unspoken hope that Comerica Park and Ford Field can do the same), respect shown to the Indians as fans hope that in a year or so their Tigers can be competing with the Indians for the division title. All in all, you can be sure that I'll be returning with Sherry to take in another game this season.


As we walked to the parking lot, I was able to see the exterior of Ford Field where my Steelers won Super Bowl XL earlier this year. It was nice ending to the day. For whatever reason, we were able to return home with no glitches or delays of any kind, which I know Nancy and Ted appreciated since they didn't want to miss Seventh Heaven.