Denver: WOW!!

I flew from Atlanta to Denver, with a stopover in Phoenix, to see the Rockies play the Cubs at Coors Field. The day was largely uneventful except for the bothersome annoyance of my second flight being operated by a different airline. This meant I had to switch terminals (which in Phoenix is no easy task since the airport is laid out over 38 sq. miles) and go through security all over again. I haven’t been checking baggage so it’s kind of stressful to fish out my laptop and liquids bag every time I go through a metal detector. Time out, I’ll wait for you all to go get your tiny violins.

Anyway, Denver rocks!! I really really wish I had more time to check out the city some more. I went for a run in the mile-high air and was gone for over an hour. I just kept turning down the next street corner, and the next, and the next. The city is undergoing a lot of construction of new condo’s and apartments but it also has some of that “old-timey western” feel to it with really wide streets and buildings with facades like something you would see in a Clint Eastwood flick. Everything was clean, people were really friendly and the public transportation seemed abundant. Plus there were bars and good restaurants (like Chipotle!) everywhere as well. Go Denver, you get an A.

As another added bonus, I drove from my hotel to the game and it took all of 3 minutes! I knew I was close to the stadium but didn’t know HOW close. So instead of paying $10 to park, I just turned around and walked back to the game. That also meant I could be a little more liberal on the amount of original Coors Banquet beers I consumed :-)

Game Notes:


As for the Rockies game…tremendous! This was by far the best baseball game I’ve been to on the trip. It was back and forth all night, the crowd was into it (when the scoreboard told them to be; more on that later), the weather was perfect and the finish was exciting. The Cubs ended up winning in extra innings (of note: it was the franchise’s 10,000th victory) but I didn’t mind that much. There were probably as many Cubs fans as Rockies fans in the stadium and when the dueling chants got going (“Let’s go Cub-ies” vs. “Let’s go Rock-ies”) it was pretty confusing.

Coors Field is really nice. The concession areas and lower levels are very similar to Turner Field (for those of you who’ve been) but there are many things unique about the park. They have a lot of Mexican food/burrito stands, they serve Coors Banquet beer, the bullpen is an oasis.


And the backdrop is the Rocky Mountains fercryinoutloud! This picture doesn’t really do it justice but you get the idea.


The prices in Denver are pretty decent. I’m sure most of you are familiar with Domino’s $5/$5/$5 deal? Well, in the mile-high city it’s a $4/$4/$4 deal! That carried over to the ballpark as well. 21oz. draft beers were $6.25 which, based on price per ounce, marginally trumps the $8.00/24oz. at the Trop. Also, all hot dogs and such were on average .50 to .75 cheaper than the other stadiums. I had a Rockies Dog (footlong, peppers, onions, kraut) for $5.25. If I had got my tickets in advance I probably could have sat in the “Rock Pile” which are bleachers in center field for $4.00. All of this is relevant, right?

I almost got hit with another batting practice home run. Alfonso Soriano was CRUSHING the ball while I was checking out the bullpen oasis in center field. Well, yours truly was taking one of about 15 pictures of the bullpen and a ball was headed straight for my head when out of nowhere a Cubs fan with a glove jumped up on the bleachers one row in front of me to snag the ball. I’ve got to pay more attention if I’m going to keep doing this whole bp thing. PS, Soriano also has a bazooka attached to his shoulder. I mean, that guy can THROW.

BP behind the safety of a net:


High Points:

-All of the streets around the stadium are closed off and local bars have game day specials such as 5 beers for $14 and there are games for kids as well.

-The scenery around the park is going to be hard to beat.

-Everyone who was at the game that night got a “Go Rockies” towel. It looked kinda cool when everyone was waving them at the same time.

-Coors Field has felt the most like a true “baseball stadium” so far. It was all about the baseball, people were friendly, the game was great, the park was unique and everything inside was relevant.

-They had a special food section and playground just for kids (please, no short jokes)


-The seats along the baselines are angled towards home plate and they have cup holders.

-After the game I went to a bar across the street to watch the Nuggets/Lakers game with a bunch of Denver fans. The Nuggets got blown out but it was still fun to get into the game.

Low Points:

-The ushers were nowhere near as bad as those at Turner Field but they were still sticks in the mud about some things. I saw a lot of people getting kicked out of seats which weren’t theirs and they asked for your ticket every time you came to their section. However, if you put on a confident strut and headed directly towards “your” seats, they didn’t bother you.

-My biggest complaint with Coors Field was the scoreboard/graphics department in relation to the fans. The scoreboard was constantly playing these stupid songs and telling people to clap their hands or “make some noise” or “wave those towels.” Maybe I’m spoiled because Fenway doesn’t need to do those things but it seemed like people were just trained seals going through the motions. In a nail-biter of a game it shouldn’t have to be that way.

Overall Grade: B+

Game Stats:

Teams: Rockies vs. Cubs
Final Score: 7-6 Cubs
WP: Kerry Wood
LP: Kip Wells
S: Carlos Marmol
Time: 3:19
Announced Attendance: 36,864
Ticket Price: $18.00
Parking Price: N/A


Trip Stats:

Home team record: 2-2
Best Anthem: Tropicana Field
Miles Driven: 1064
States Visited: 3
Beds slept in: 5
Next Stop: Seattle Mariners

Favorite Park: Coors Field