3. LACK OF UNIQUE VIEWS OF FIELD.
Ok, so reason #3 is similiar to #2. However, I didn’t want to lump reasons #2 and #3 into one post because I feel so strongly about reason #2 that it requires its own post.
The Cell has only one unique perspective of the field. The view from behind the outfield fence (in the “patio”) is great. You don’t get that at Wrigley. You are actually standing below ground level behind the outfield fence, so you feel like a groundhog or somethin’. It’s cool. But that’s it.
However, they kick everyone out of the “patio” section behind the outfield fence after the second inning. So you can’t even enjoy this view during the whole game. So really this bonus isn’t 100% valid. Leave it to the White Sox to ruin the one nice thing about their ball park.
All the other views are bla and boring at the Cell. I’ll tell you what. I’d rather have a seat in the worst section in Wrigley (which is the last row of the lower deck straight up from the bullpen), than have the seat in The Cell which is the same distance from home plate. At least the seats in the worst section of Wrigley offers some charm. Sure the roof blocks all pop ups and even low-flying fly balls. But that’s part of baseball. It’s the charm. It’s the nooks and crannies. Baseball wasn’t meant to be cold, sterile, straightforward and boring like The Cell. The game of baseball isn’t like that. The game is chalk-full of nuances and interesting, yet strange rules. Ball parks should resemble that.
In Wrigley you can walk up all sorts of different cat-walks to get different views of the game. Sure some of those views show only 25% of the field, but it’s interesting to see the compositions created by these nooks. I explored some of these interesting angles the last time I was wrigley. (I was about 3 sections to the left of the worst seating section in Wrigley). I got some great shots at Wrigley that I would never ever ever get at the Cell.
At Wrigley you can take a stroll down the walking lane closest to the field and see some close-up action. You can’t get that at The Cell.
At Wrigley, you can get seats right next to the bullpens. The cell offers seats close to the bullpens, but not nearly as close as Wrigley.
At Wrigley, you can get seats in the family bleachers. That’s only three rows. That means you get no annoying concession sellers. That means you get a better shot of nabbing a homerun ball during batting practice and during the game. There’s less rows of people to compete with and balls bounce off the fence. And you can dive into the basket to get homerun balls. None of this you can get at The Cell.
At Wrigley you can get bleacher seats directly below the manual scoreboard. That’s a unique perspective of the scoreboard. You can’t get that at the Cell. Though you can stand the whole game below the Sox’s scoreboard.
Sox fans argue that the only thing that matters is what happens on the field. I’ll agree with that to a point. The action on the field is important. I’ll tell you what Wrigley’s role is in the game. The Wrigley experience should enhance the game-viewing experience. The Wrigley experience shouldn’t overpower the experience of watching the game as some bleacher bums and tourists let happen. However, when you are a true fan, it doesn’t get better than letting the surroundings of Wrigley enhance the enjoyment of watching the game.
i’ve never been to Comiskey myself. i’m fine with that.