Literally, folks.
The fellow on the right in this picture is Chris M, who was Josh's best man and the resident expert in our trip to Vegas last August. Chris' brother won the Red Sox ticket lottery back in January that allowed him the chance to buy Monster seats for a game this season. He picked Saturday, July 16th - Red Sox-Yankees. You'll notice that in this picture, the part of Chris' brother is being played by yours truly. Chris' brother is nowhere in the vicinity of the ballpark...in fact, he's in Qatar. Yes, the tiny little country halfway around the world, on the the Arabian peninsula, across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Apparently, he was offered a huge raise and all sorts of living expenses, and was forced to give up his Monster seats to do so (well, that wasn't a condition of his move, but instead a result of his moving schedule. Still, kind of an amateur move.). And so it was six of us we met up at the Cask & Flagon for a trip 37 feet into the air...atop the Monster.
Tickets for the game up there were a cool $100. Most of the time, they're $80 for second and third row (where we were; it's $100/$120 for front row), but for special games like this, they hike up the price. Still, it's well worth it. The view from up there is something else - a clear view of the whole park, unobstructed by poles, vendors, or even the people in front of you. There are three rows of seats - which hold 312 people - and another 100 standing-room spots. We were in section 6, right above the Jimmy Fund sign and between the Sports Authority and Volvo signs. Basically, dead center on the wall. The seats themselves are swivel stools with a back, a bit of leg room (!), and a counter to lean on/put your drinks on. Combine that with the view and the high probability of catching a homer, and the expenditure is quickly justified.
Originally, the plan was for our group to pair off and get the Monster seats for three innings each. Dan and Steve immediately claimed the 7th, 8th and 9th, while Josh and Kimberly took the 4th, 5th and 6th, leaving the first three to us. They punched our tickets, stamped our hands, and up we went. Fortunately, the first three innings probably took longer than either of the other two stints. Unfortunately, it was because Matt Clement couldn't find the plate with a map, and was gone after 2 2/3 innings. Alex Rodriguez hit a frozen rope that hit a guy in the gut in the row behind us and then dropped amid a family of four to our right. The husband came up with it, handed it to his wife, and it didn't take much convincing for her to lob it back onto the field. The crowd was angry that day, my friends...like an old man sending back soup in a deli. Ok, so I just wanted a Seinfeld reference in there. Security came by and chided the woman for throwing the ball back, saying it was "only a tradition in Chicago"...bah. But she didn't get tossed out.
Come the end of the third, we trudged down to our common-folk seats - mere $45 butt-achers in section 27 - and Josh and Kimberly headed up to the Monster. They got to see all of the Sox action (minus the Mark Bellhorn pop-fly homer we saw in the bottom of the 3rd) and then came down after the 6th to pass the tickets along to Dan & Steve. And then, things began to spiral out of control...
Apparently, Friendly Fenway is only Friendly to a point. They will not allow you to switch seats with anyone, and claimed to have made a mistake in letting Josh & Kimberly up there without checking their hands for the stamp (which we thought was for alcohol sales rather than re-entry). So when Dan & Steve came back empty-handed (or, rather, just came back), we knew something was amiss. I believe Chris is in the middle of writing his protest letter right now to Messrs. Henry, Lucchino and Werner. But the upshot was that we got to go BACK atop the Monster for the 7th, 8th and 9th. Good times, except for that whole pesky losing thing. Final score, 7-4, but a view I'll never forget.
Leave a comment