Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Bye Bye Superdome?

CNN has a "Breaking News" banner on it's website, it's been there for awhile, with news that some Louisiana state officials are saying the Superdome may need to be destroyed.

Question to fellow sports fans and trivia nuts: Will this then be the first stadium that has hosted a Super Bowl (or two or how many ever have been there) to be leveled?

It's always a bit sad when a venue that has hosted so many events is forced to come down. But this one might be a little bit harder to take, since it was still a viable venue and an engineering marvel, as I feel all domes that size are.

If it must come down, it will be missed.

On a lighter note, although many dumps have finally been replaced by gorgeous venues in recent years, there are still some ballparks/football stadiums that are ready for the rockpile. So, my list of Top Five Stadiums We Could Do Without:

1. Shea Stadium. One of the oldest NL stadiums left, would anyone really miss it if it was gone? No personality, no cityscape in the distance. Blah.

2. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. A great man saddled with an awful stadium named after him. I will say this in the park's defense: Without it, the Twins and Vikings would have long left Minnesota. But the roof saved 'em. Now, with the Twins back on solid ground and the Vikings with new, better ownership, the stadium needs replacing. Unfortunately, several wonderful replacement plans have been scuttled by the "new" Minnesota...the one that is dominated by a vicious group of anti-government people called the "Taxpayers' League". These guys are the Minnesota Mafia. Thugs who don't want to pay their fair share...for anything.

3. Network Associates Coliseum. That's what they call it now in Oakland. But it still sucks. Round (like all of the 60's and 70's concrete slabs), terrible for baseball (there's about 200 feet of foul ground behind the plate) and in a god-awful neighborhood (park in Vallejo, take a train...trust me). Buh-bye.

4. Texas Stadium. "It's got a hole in it so god can see his team play on Sunday's". Make me puke. This arrogant stadium built by arrogant people in an arrogant state is over-hyped and over-loved, but butt-ugly. It's so far in the ground, that when you drive by it, it appears to be nothing more than a large Budweiser warehouse. I hear it's now rat infested, and sadly out of date in it's infrastructure and facilities that are out of sight of the average patron. Get rid of it.

5. (This will make me popular) Wrigley Field. Speaking of over-hyped and over-loved, let's add over-rated to the mix. First, the ivy is stupid. Secondly, Grandview cemetery is in better shape. Thirdly, the facilities are atrocious for broadcasters, writers, officials, teams, and just about everybody else. Finally, since everyone knows the team will suck and never win, it just becomes the city's largest bar most of the time, and there are no more obnoxious fans in all of sports than Cub fans with a buzz on. Raze the thing and start fresh, it's o-vah.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the metrodome, that place sucks to watch a game. But Wrigley Field? Come on, one draw is the atmosphere, even as you say.

BJ Stone said...

Yeah, if you can get into the stadium without getting hit by a falling brick.

The whole combination is what bothers me: The adoration of a terrible franchise, the adoration of a dilapitated stadium, it just goes on and on and it's sickening.

As a Twins fan, I feel for the White Sox, who consistently put...or at least TRY to put...a better product on the field, and they're treated as second class citizens.

I want the White Sox to win it all this year, and have a parade that starts on Addison and runs right by the dump.

:)