FanGirling at Fenway: An Afternoon Game in Boston

Boston Red Sox

Specifics:

Fenway Park

Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox

Date of Game: Saturday, June 4, 2016

Time of Game: 4:05PM EST

Final score: Blue Jays-4, Red Sox-6

Section 36, Row 11, Seat 1

As I was planning a trip to Providence, Rhode Island, I noticed that Boston was a little more than an hour away by car. I thought this would be a great opportunity to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park and make a memory with my parents. Unfortunately, my parents were unable to make the trip, but my friend and I continued with the plans anyway.

The game we selected started at 4:05PM EST, this would give us plenty of time to explore the city if we arrived earlier in the day. The plan was to scope out the parking near the stadium so we can obtain and check out some of the food vendors outside Fenway before the game.

It was a dreary day, not much sun at all. The drive from our hotel in Providence, RI to Boston, MA was a little over an hour and unremarkable. Once we drove by the baseball stadium, it was apparent that having planned parking would have been ideal. My co-pilot quickly got out his phone and got parking for the car on the redsox.com app.

Unfortunately, it required that we print something to post it in the car windshield. Where can we get access to a printer in Boston?  (Or any city for that matter when you are unfamiliar with your surroundings). The closest, open copy center was on the outskirts of Boston, but since we didn’t know our way around the city, they had closed by the time we arrived. After additional investigation, a library a few miles away was still open, so we drove over to there. I thought someone would say something about our NY accents, but no one did. Once our document was printed, we were back on track.

We parked walking distance to the stadium and arrived an hour before game time, it was enough time to walk through the vendor area to grab lunch. It was quite overwhelming, with people darting around from vendor to vendor. After we ate, we headed inside the park to our seats.

The weather was cool, 63-67 degrees but it remained cloudy. Our seats for this game were in the outfield, section 36. Behind center field. I liked these seats; it was easy to see the whole field. While watching the game is always fun; sometimes it’s the people that are sitting around you that make the game exciting. This game was a little of both! Lots of conversations and differing opinions going on around us. It was fun to listen to. In the Bottom of the 6th inning there was a question about a tag on the field by the Red Sox. This created a lot of noise in the stands. The game stopped while the play was reviewed, and the decision was reversed. I’d like to think the change had something to do with the crowd being vocal about the play, but that’s just this gal’s opinion. :-)

Towards the end of the game, we went shopping for souvenirs for a friend, and for ice cream. It was a little chilly for ice cream, but the ice cream helmets are what we collect from each of the stadiums, so ice cream it was.

Of note, the December before this trip, my traveling partner received, “The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip”, a book by Josh Pahigian and Kevin O’Donnell as a gift. It was very helpful to identify, best seats, blocked seats, recommended places to eat and other places to see in the area.

I feel accomplished seeing a Boston Red Sox game. The Red Sox are so full of history, I’d feel bad if I had missed out. I hope to return to Boston to explore some of the historical sites. Maybe even visit the bar that inspired the Cheers television show.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Written October 20, 2023

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