Leave it up to me to find fun and enjoyment in a city that I did not expect much out of going into it.
Lucky me, huh.
Last Wednesday, my Yankees version of the 2008 road trip found myself in Pittsburgh as they were visiting PNC Park to take on the Pirates. This specific trip had been on my radar for two years when I knew they were going to be making an appearance there. On television, I would look at the stadium and say to myself, “I have to go there and check the place out.”
Got to the ballpark at five and decided I was going to make my tour around PNC to get a feel of the area. Greeting you is a strip of bars that are adjoined to downtown and the ballpark. Across the street, several more places existed that make PNC Park not only a place to go to for a game, but a total event to explore the area both before and after games. It provides a boom for any city that can put a stadium next to these types of places.
In Pittsburgh, it is different. The team has fallen on hard times the last 15 years and is one of baseball’s worst. Despite a new stadium, they have among the lowest attendance in MLB. A great concept and what should be a thriving area is depressed on most nights with nightly crowds of less than 15,000. With our Yankees in town, all three games are sold out. A lot of us traveling fans of NY have taken over the town and have money to burn. We are providing the city with our version of a stimulus payment.
Inside the park, I made my way to my seat in right center field Section 140. I checked out Mariano Rivera shagging flies. Michael Kay always says that if he were not a pitcher, he would make a great center fielder. He is also the best athlete on the team.
Took a visit to Manny’s BBQ that I heard Ken Singleton mention during the game the previous night. The problem was the line was ridiculously long. Easily, it was going to take 30 minutes to get food. Joba Chamberlain was going to warm up in the bullpen and I was not going to miss that for the world. Biting the bullet, I choose to wait in the line. The grill had what looked to be the largest hamburgers ever served at a park. These had to be ten ounces of beef on a bun. One look at the price showed it was only $7.25. What a deal! And I get baked beans and coleslaw? Sign me up. 30 minutes later, the food was in my possession and Joba had yet to warm up. Everything was lined up perfectly.
I got to the Yankees bullpen and just in time to see The Chamberlain Dynasty up close. The kid still has a baby face at his young age. Give him two or three years before the mustache grows.
The game itself was an exciting bore. It was domination by the Yankees offense and great pitching from Joba. Maybe the lack of sleep or the Manny’s BBQ was doing me in. For about 3 innings, I was going in and out of sleep. After the 6th inning, I went to search out some ice cream if it existed. Towards left field, there was a vendor selling ice cream called “Dots”. This was not normal stuff. He explained to me that they make the ice cream is processed to where each piece will melt in your mouth as you eat it. It was worth a shot. Oreo’s Cookies and Cream never tasted better on this night. It was the perfect pick-me-up. How comes no other city has this?
When I came back to my seat, I met this really cute girl named Kelly. She was a Pirates fan. We started talking, got to know each other and decided that we were going to hang out after the game. A 10-0 Yankees win, and it was time to enjoy the night.
Turns out, the place we went to was a common place for me. Pittsburgh has a bar called “Mullen’s Bar and Grill.” I thought this was only a Chicago thing, but no. The logo and design looked the same. Her brother was cool and told me that she thought I was cute (odd word coming from another man) and he gave me the green light. It was great time with her. I officially have a reason for going back now.
(SIDE NOTE: This is why I do not mind doing road trips solo. For me at least, making new friends is easy. You have your Yankees gear on so that is an instant conversation starter. If you have a wingman and you are on the road, you are at the mercy of that person. If he is not getting the eye of the ladies and you happen to be that night, what can you do? You both are sharing a hotel room, so it is not as if you can tell them to sleep out in the lobby. "Hey bro, do you mind? I have to take care of some business". At least I am in control and this all being done on my terms.)
Since I did not do any sightseeing Wednesday, I was going to make Thursday my day to check this
stuff out. My friend Nicole instructed me that Mount Washington and Station Square were the two places to check out so I was going to make this happen. She was in effect, my de-facto ghost tour guide.
Station Square had a strip of many different places. I had always wanted to get one of those Terrible Towels that the Steelers fans have been waving for years. Five minutes and $13.99 later at a place called Hometown Sports, it was mine.
Hard Rock Cafe, Bar Louie and other trendy spots were around and I met and chatted with other Yankees fans. Word I was getting that this was the main hangout place to come to on weekends as its called “Southside”. A problem for me since I was leaving Friday. Turns out, the beer at a place called Fathead’s is $2.25 and wings for a quarter. $20 can do it for me in one night. Are they promoting alcohol here? They cannot be serious can they? Going back just got more enticing.
Mount Washington was the next stop. I saw the view earlier when I was heading down to the Square. Now I was going to make the trip up the Duquesne Incline to see the city myself. For $2, the incline takes you up there and the view is spectacular. My camera was set to work overtime today (without pay). It is a small observatory area that you can see the beautiful skyline of the city. Nicole and everyone else obviously knew what they were talking about.
I walked to the ferry and decided to travel to the game. Best part was that they sold beer on the way. How great is that? On top of the water, and going through a city and seeing the sights with a brew.
Near drama ensued when I got up to my section. The Pittsburgh Baseball Club, where I was sitting on this night, had a private entrance. I took out my ticket, and the wind blew it out of my hand and carried it about ten feet to my left close to the railing where it almost fell over. OMFG! I would have been screwed, but I was lucky enough to recover it.
The club level is tremendous. Air-conditioned, private bathrooms and different food selections. I saw some chocolate cake and ice cream that was sure to reach my mouth at some point. I reached section 221, and the nice older usher whom I gave my ticket to greeted me and showed me personally to my seat. He even used his towel to wipe the seat and asked me if I needed anything. Wow!
(SIDE NOTE – Two things I was disappointed with was no waiter service. I personally do not like it
when I have to get up for food because I have to wait in line and it takes me away from the game. Does that sound uppity? Sure, I guess. The section also did not have a protective covering for rain. This made zero sense. Club seats are for your premier customers. I know we can go into a private room, but why must I have to take the chance of getting wet first?)
The Yankees were leading 3-1 until I started looking up at the sky. It sure did not look like last night. Rain was coming, but the word was that it would be a small shower. It came down, and a group of four people that I just got to know and myself made a beeline for the exit.
Waiting for the rain to play out, I took a walk along the level to see what it had. Sure enough, I ran into guys playing Shuffleboard. Shuffleboard? Where do you find this? A little further up were some kids playing arcade air hockey. Old school! I was six years old in day camp the last time I played it. The closest I had gotten to this machine was the Sky Mall magazine three weeks ago.
It was like Dave and Buster’s infiltrated the level and established business right there. Golden Tee was around. NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat must not have been available. Hell, they could have broken out the old “Simpson’s” arcade circa 1991 and I would have approved. The new Yankee Stadium had better take note of this. Sure you can have great bars and a Hard Rock Café, but mix in some Golden Tee into the mix and during rain delay’s you will hold my attention.
After two and half hours and watching the 1971 and 1979 World Series, and an episode of Abbott and Costello (you know programming is short when you get to that), the PA announcer stated the game would be postponed and made up on July 10th. This sucked. My road trip was going to end with only seeing one game and two-ninth’s of another. It was time to hit the bars.
Being a Yankee fan apparently has some benefits. Within about 10 minutes of me settling in to Mullen’s, I had some people coming to say hello and we chatted. Suddenly, they were asking me I wanted a drink. One drink became two, and we were off to the races. I pulled out a $20 to pay and say thanks but they told me not to worry about it. This was a treat for being brave enough to wear his gear with no fear. I mean, this was Pittsburgh. It wasn’t as if I was in Philadelphia wearing Giants gear. That is risky business.
It was great night on the town even though I was hoping for more baseball than alcohol. At most (I think), I got two hours of sleep that night before heading to the airport. This trip exceeded all of my expectations.
Giants vs. Steelers, October 26 is my return. Something tells me I will get a much chillier reception when I go back for that trip than I did for this one.
Lucky me, huh.
Last Wednesday, my Yankees version of the 2008 road trip found myself in Pittsburgh as they were visiting PNC Park to take on the Pirates. This specific trip had been on my radar for two years when I knew they were going to be making an appearance there. On television, I would look at the stadium and say to myself, “I have to go there and check the place out.”
Got to the ballpark at five and decided I was going to make my tour around PNC to get a feel of the area. Greeting you is a strip of bars that are adjoined to downtown and the ballpark. Across the street, several more places existed that make PNC Park not only a place to go to for a game, but a total event to explore the area both before and after games. It provides a boom for any city that can put a stadium next to these types of places.
In Pittsburgh, it is different. The team has fallen on hard times the last 15 years and is one of baseball’s worst. Despite a new stadium, they have among the lowest attendance in MLB. A great concept and what should be a thriving area is depressed on most nights with nightly crowds of less than 15,000. With our Yankees in town, all three games are sold out. A lot of us traveling fans of NY have taken over the town and have money to burn. We are providing the city with our version of a stimulus payment.
Inside the park, I made my way to my seat in right center field Section 140. I checked out Mariano Rivera shagging flies. Michael Kay always says that if he were not a pitcher, he would make a great center fielder. He is also the best athlete on the team.
Took a visit to Manny’s BBQ that I heard Ken Singleton mention during the game the previous night. The problem was the line was ridiculously long. Easily, it was going to take 30 minutes to get food. Joba Chamberlain was going to warm up in the bullpen and I was not going to miss that for the world. Biting the bullet, I choose to wait in the line. The grill had what looked to be the largest hamburgers ever served at a park. These had to be ten ounces of beef on a bun. One look at the price showed it was only $7.25. What a deal! And I get baked beans and coleslaw? Sign me up. 30 minutes later, the food was in my possession and Joba had yet to warm up. Everything was lined up perfectly.
I got to the Yankees bullpen and just in time to see The Chamberlain Dynasty up close. The kid still has a baby face at his young age. Give him two or three years before the mustache grows.
The game itself was an exciting bore. It was domination by the Yankees offense and great pitching from Joba. Maybe the lack of sleep or the Manny’s BBQ was doing me in. For about 3 innings, I was going in and out of sleep. After the 6th inning, I went to search out some ice cream if it existed. Towards left field, there was a vendor selling ice cream called “Dots”. This was not normal stuff. He explained to me that they make the ice cream is processed to where each piece will melt in your mouth as you eat it. It was worth a shot. Oreo’s Cookies and Cream never tasted better on this night. It was the perfect pick-me-up. How comes no other city has this?
When I came back to my seat, I met this really cute girl named Kelly. She was a Pirates fan. We started talking, got to know each other and decided that we were going to hang out after the game. A 10-0 Yankees win, and it was time to enjoy the night.
Turns out, the place we went to was a common place for me. Pittsburgh has a bar called “Mullen’s Bar and Grill.” I thought this was only a Chicago thing, but no. The logo and design looked the same. Her brother was cool and told me that she thought I was cute (odd word coming from another man) and he gave me the green light. It was great time with her. I officially have a reason for going back now.
(SIDE NOTE: This is why I do not mind doing road trips solo. For me at least, making new friends is easy. You have your Yankees gear on so that is an instant conversation starter. If you have a wingman and you are on the road, you are at the mercy of that person. If he is not getting the eye of the ladies and you happen to be that night, what can you do? You both are sharing a hotel room, so it is not as if you can tell them to sleep out in the lobby. "Hey bro, do you mind? I have to take care of some business". At least I am in control and this all being done on my terms.)
Since I did not do any sightseeing Wednesday, I was going to make Thursday my day to check this
stuff out. My friend Nicole instructed me that Mount Washington and Station Square were the two places to check out so I was going to make this happen. She was in effect, my de-facto ghost tour guide.Station Square had a strip of many different places. I had always wanted to get one of those Terrible Towels that the Steelers fans have been waving for years. Five minutes and $13.99 later at a place called Hometown Sports, it was mine.
Hard Rock Cafe, Bar Louie and other trendy spots were around and I met and chatted with other Yankees fans. Word I was getting that this was the main hangout place to come to on weekends as its called “Southside”. A problem for me since I was leaving Friday. Turns out, the beer at a place called Fathead’s is $2.25 and wings for a quarter. $20 can do it for me in one night. Are they promoting alcohol here? They cannot be serious can they? Going back just got more enticing.
Mount Washington was the next stop. I saw the view earlier when I was heading down to the Square. Now I was going to make the trip up the Duquesne Incline to see the city myself. For $2, the incline takes you up there and the view is spectacular. My camera was set to work overtime today (without pay). It is a small observatory area that you can see the beautiful skyline of the city. Nicole and everyone else obviously knew what they were talking about.
I walked to the ferry and decided to travel to the game. Best part was that they sold beer on the way. How great is that? On top of the water, and going through a city and seeing the sights with a brew.
Near drama ensued when I got up to my section. The Pittsburgh Baseball Club, where I was sitting on this night, had a private entrance. I took out my ticket, and the wind blew it out of my hand and carried it about ten feet to my left close to the railing where it almost fell over. OMFG! I would have been screwed, but I was lucky enough to recover it.
The club level is tremendous. Air-conditioned, private bathrooms and different food selections. I saw some chocolate cake and ice cream that was sure to reach my mouth at some point. I reached section 221, and the nice older usher whom I gave my ticket to greeted me and showed me personally to my seat. He even used his towel to wipe the seat and asked me if I needed anything. Wow!
(SIDE NOTE – Two things I was disappointed with was no waiter service. I personally do not like it
when I have to get up for food because I have to wait in line and it takes me away from the game. Does that sound uppity? Sure, I guess. The section also did not have a protective covering for rain. This made zero sense. Club seats are for your premier customers. I know we can go into a private room, but why must I have to take the chance of getting wet first?)The Yankees were leading 3-1 until I started looking up at the sky. It sure did not look like last night. Rain was coming, but the word was that it would be a small shower. It came down, and a group of four people that I just got to know and myself made a beeline for the exit.
Waiting for the rain to play out, I took a walk along the level to see what it had. Sure enough, I ran into guys playing Shuffleboard. Shuffleboard? Where do you find this? A little further up were some kids playing arcade air hockey. Old school! I was six years old in day camp the last time I played it. The closest I had gotten to this machine was the Sky Mall magazine three weeks ago.
It was like Dave and Buster’s infiltrated the level and established business right there. Golden Tee was around. NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat must not have been available. Hell, they could have broken out the old “Simpson’s” arcade circa 1991 and I would have approved. The new Yankee Stadium had better take note of this. Sure you can have great bars and a Hard Rock Café, but mix in some Golden Tee into the mix and during rain delay’s you will hold my attention.
After two and half hours and watching the 1971 and 1979 World Series, and an episode of Abbott and Costello (you know programming is short when you get to that), the PA announcer stated the game would be postponed and made up on July 10th. This sucked. My road trip was going to end with only seeing one game and two-ninth’s of another. It was time to hit the bars.
Being a Yankee fan apparently has some benefits. Within about 10 minutes of me settling in to Mullen’s, I had some people coming to say hello and we chatted. Suddenly, they were asking me I wanted a drink. One drink became two, and we were off to the races. I pulled out a $20 to pay and say thanks but they told me not to worry about it. This was a treat for being brave enough to wear his gear with no fear. I mean, this was Pittsburgh. It wasn’t as if I was in Philadelphia wearing Giants gear. That is risky business.
It was great night on the town even though I was hoping for more baseball than alcohol. At most (I think), I got two hours of sleep that night before heading to the airport. This trip exceeded all of my expectations.
Giants vs. Steelers, October 26 is my return. Something tells me I will get a much chillier reception when I go back for that trip than I did for this one.
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