Bill's Blog

As you get older, you sometimes start to pine for the days of your youth when everything was ahead of you and things were simpler and less complex.  No, I don't want to go back to having only ten television channels or reverting to actually turning a dial to change stations.  Newer isn't always better.  The way things used to be is sometimes the way it should be today.  Why try to improve upon a good thing?

This thought struck me last week as I got to spend a free evening taking in a Cubs game at the time honored mecca of baseball stadiums - Wrigley Field.  Wrigley is old school baseball at its finest.  Yes, lights have been added for night baseball but the streets surrounding the stadium remain the same as back in 1914, the year Wrigley was built.  Much like Fenway Park, there is significant history in Wrigley Field, albeit mostly tragic for Cubs faithful.

What strikes you on first impression coming through the tunnel is the sheer magnitude of visual green brilliance - the field, the stands, the ivy covered outfield walls and the scoreboard, which to this day is still hand operated.  What is also glaringly obvious is the lack of marketing/  advertising signage.

The oldest park in the National league features no replay screens.  You'd better pay attention to the action.  If you miss a play while texting or emailing, you won't see it again until SportsCenter.  Two discrete Under Armour logos are carved out in small sections of the ivy in right and left center.  Very classy and nonthreatening to the character and charm of the wall.  You won't see highlights of out of town games or be subjected to endless promotions and videos.  It is all about the game of baseball.  It's the way baseball games used to be watched and experienced. 

The historical significance of the stadium and baseball hit me as the sun was setting and rays of late evening sunshine shone through the upper and lower decks.  It mirrored some of the great pregame stadium scenes from The Natural.  It made for a perfect evening. 

There are only four digital ad signs in the stadium along with a Toyota sign (elegantly constructed) in left field over the bleachers.  Despite outcry from traditionalists, the sign went up; but Cubs management can't put up another until 2014!   Music wasn't being blasted every few minutes.  Fans kept score and were involved in the game.  Ushers were friendly and didn't have their hands out to be greased.  They took pictures for fans and made them feel welcome.  The Cubs offer a great baseball brand experience.  All without resorting to gimmicks, prizes and contests to cater to a populace that has to be constantly stimulated.  It was about baseball and all that is great about it. 

The Cubs are awful this year, yet the fans were easy on them.  It was a Midwestern feel that you don't get in Boston, New York and or Philadelphia.  To them, Wrigley is a cherished monument that they want kept the way it has always been.  Yes, to me it looks really weird without signage and modern conveniences - replays, out-of-town game scores, highlights, etc.  Wrigley Field is registered as an historic landmark; so special landmark permits are required for any physical changes.  Change comes slowly, but is that necessarily a bad thing?  What is unique is the fact that Wrigley Field was one of the first "corporate" named stadiums - a trendsetter in naming rights.  Today, it is one of the few stadiums that doesn't have corporate naming rights.  Others include Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium.  That's not a bad thing!

Traditions are upheld - including daily guest singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."  What's old is new at Wrigley.  It's all about baseball and Cub fans want it to stay that way.  There is something comforting in knowing that not everything has to be new and improved.  Some things can't be improved upon - one being taking in a ballgame at Wrigley Field.