city showdown boston

City Showdown

BOSTONHISTORICAL ROCK:

Plymouth Rock

PRESTIGIOUS ENGINEERING SCHOOL: Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT)

GETAWAY LOCATION: Cape Cod

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY:Fishing

HOME RUN OBSTACLE: Green Monster (Left Field)

FAMOUS STREET:Newberry Street

MOVIE FILMED NEARBY:Good Will Hunting

(or most films by or with

Ben or Casey Affleck)

J U N E 2 0 1 3 ROCKIES.com | twitter.com/Rockies | twitter.com/LosRockies | facebook.com/Rockies R O C K I E S M A G A Z I N E 17

Though the Rockies dropped the series, the at-mosphere inside Busch Stadium was impressive.Everyone in the stadium was decked out in their Car-dinal red. Hardly a soul wasn’t supporting theirbeloved St. Louis Cards. It was amazing how knowl-edgeable all the fans were about baseball. I had sev-eral conversations with people about how theCardinals season was going. All of them were well-versed and eager to talk about not only the Cardinalsorganization, but the Rockies club as well.

Most of the fans at Busch were also very respect-ful. During Sunday’s game, the Cardinals PA an-nouncer mistakenly stated that Charlie Blackmon wasmaking his Major League debut. Later in the game,Blackmon hit a two-run homer. The Cardinals fans,thinking that it was his first Major League hit, re-spectfully gave him a standing ovation for his accom-plishment. Of course, it wasn’t his debut, it wasactually well past his 200th at-bat in Major LeagueBaseball.

The Sunday game was Mother’s Day and the Car-dinal moms take that seriously. There were giveawaysgalore: free sun hats for the moms, along with prizesand raffles. Kids had the opportunity to make freecrafts to give their moms and fans could also get freeice cream on the concourse. It was impressive to seeall the moms supporting their ballclub. Everywhereyou went, women of all ages were sporting theirfloppy sun hats.

The staff working the game was fantastic, just likeat Coors Field. Everybody I talked to was very cour-teous and kind. They were the first to wish fans agood day and always available if they had a need.Everybody was very welcoming and treated me justlike anyone else, even though I was wearing my Rock-ies gear. In fact, there really wasn’t much Rockies

mockery to speak of. People were actually more in-terested in what I thought about the Rockies’ hot startthan the colors I was wearing. Constantly, I heardquestions like, “Do you think the Rockies can keepthis winning up?” or “What do you think of that newthird baseman?” My answers were to the tune of, “Icertainly hope so,” and “Nolan’s sure looking like astud right now,” respectively.

Outside of Busch Stadium, there are loads of funthings to do. The Gateway Arch is just a short walkaway from the stadium, which, if you’re not claustro-phobic, I highly recommend. From the top of theArch on one side, you can see a breathtaking view ofthe Mississippi River and Illinois, and on the other, astunning view of Busch from above and the St. Louisskyline. The other St. Louis arenas are located withina few minutes drive from the stadium as well. The St.Louis Zoo is also quite close, as well as great food allaround.

Overall, though the Rockies for the most partstruggled during the series, my first college road tripwas a success. Busch Stadium provides baseball fanswith an extremely unique atmosphere. The stadiumis beautiful and located in a prime location in theheart of St. Louis. Cardinal fans are extremely proudof their team, have great knowledge of the game andare polite to opposing team fans. The people of St.Louis are extremely enjoyable to be around and didtheir part to make my experience in St. Louis a suc-cess.

The rivalry between Alex and me is still intact,thanks to the Rockies’ dominating performance inthe final game of the series. And thanks to this roadtrip, I finally got to see a Colorado victory away from20th and Blake. Now, I look forward to cheering onmy Rox at Coors Field this summer! v

The height of the boyband era is felt nationwide,with the Backstreet Boys,’N Sync and 98 Degreestaking the airwaves bystorm.

2000Gladiator is released,winning the Oscar forBest Film the followingwinter, and RussellCrowe asks, “Are younot entertained?”

The Dot-Com bubblebursts causing the stockmarket to come crashingdown after historic highs.

When visiting St. Louis, a trip up the Gateway Arch

is a must, as long as you’re not claustrophobic.