One For The Road: U.S. Cellular Field Opens

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 18, 2012 11:20PM

Photo Credit: Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist

I was a Cubs fan—in a family of White Sox fans—when U.S. Cellular Field opened on this date in 1991 (with a 16-0 loss to Detroit). Growing up on the Northwest side, I long said I wanted to live east of Halsted Street, near the lake and a baseball stadium. And I accomplished that goal.

I just never imagined it would be in Bridgeport.

As far as baseball experiences go, Wrigley Field is as advertised. The field itself looks like it was dropped down from the baseball gods. But much of what makes Wrigley a chore to watch a ballgame is the result of an infrastructure that is over 100 years old.

What was once known as New Comiskey Park didn't have that excuse when it opened 21 years ago, a Year before Oriole Park at Camden Yards ushered in the retro ballpark era. For better or worse, U.S. Cellular Field befits equally maligned and misunderstood fan base: It isn't pretty (although 11 years of renovations have managed to give it something of the soul Mike Veeck said was missing from it); the renovations to make the place hospitable don't get near the credit deserved; when fans stay away the place looks downright cavernous; and it suffers from being in a neighborhood with a lack of nightlife.

But some of my fondest baseball memories were made in The Cell. I saw Mark Buehrle's perfect game there. I saw the 2008 blackout game there. I met then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn in the nosebleed seats. (He was sitting in my seat and graciously let me have it back.) Some of my best meals have been in that ballpark.

And then there's that 2005 World Series title, an accomplishment that, nearly seven years later, has long passed its expiration date into "What have you done for me lately?" cynicism at Kenny Williams.

The hair on my arm still stands on end when the scoreboard explodes in the distance, signaling a home run. And when you're a disciple of the Church of Baseball, isn't that all that matters?