On a Plane!

Earlier this year, a fifth grader in my class (who's family has done rather well for themselves) made reference to attending a Sunday night Packers vs. Vikings game in Green Bay. He was in school on Monday so I asked him how this was possible. He replied, "We fly my dad and uncle's plane to all the Vikings games." As if I was an idiot. This is the same child who gave me a Tom Brady football jersey for Christmas!

I wondered what that kind of lifestyle would be like. This boy responded the way he did because he didn't know any better. He was used to attending Vikings football games, regardless of what city they played in (usually) and returning home that same day. How many Twins games would I go to if I only needed to fly 45-60 minutes north instead of driving 3 and a half hours?

Last Thursday my buddy Chris sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to come along with him and his brother to a White Sox game. His brother is a White Sox fan (ugh) and Chris's favorite team, the Dodgers, were in town for an Interleague matchup. Chris's boss owns a small plane so Chris said we'd take that to the game and return just a few hours after the game ended. I love rooting against the White Sox almost as much as rooting for the rotting Twins right now, so the chance to travel this way, was just too cool to pass up.

The plane was like a sportscar with wings. Silver and sleek, seats four comfortably. We flew out of Waterloo at 10 am for a 1 pm game. We made it to Chicago in 80 minutes! Compare that to a six-hour drive! We rented a car (should've taken the train) and got to US Cellular Field in plenty of time to grab a Dos Equis and roam around the stadium.

New Comiskey was built in 1991. In 2003 it was renamed US Cellular Field. A wave of new ballparks swept through the MLB in the years to come, so whereas US Cellular Field was ahead of its time for a bit, it now seems to be lacking in special personal touches that other newer ballparks have worked hard to create. It was a great atmosphere inside the stadium though, sitting in row 2 behind first base, and the open concourse stretching the entire length of the outfield was a neat feature. Overall, the building felt a bit generic, but that's a pretty weak complaint given that a beautiful day spent watching baseball outdoors is about as good as it gets.

The Atlantic airport we flew into is the same airport MLB players use when coming into Chicago. It's also the airport the White Sox players fly out of for road trips. It was pretty cool being shoulder to shoulder with guys like Mark Buehrle (who's truck could pass for a Transformer, or a tank), Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, and Paul Konerko. I resisted the urge to punch Hawk Harrelson in the face and key A.J. Pierzynski's Chevy Tahoe.

We had to wait for some sketchy weather to pass through Chicago, the same weather that forced Kelli and Charly to spend a little quality time in our basement while I was away, so the idea of returning home shortly after the game ended was shot. But it was still a lot of fun and a great experience. If only I could travel this way more often!