Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Top ten toughest places for Chicago teams to play

10. Yankee Stadium


Maybe it’s the second city factor? For whatever reason, the Sox always seem to struggle in New York. This season the Sox finished 1-3 in New York.

9. Busch Stadium


The Cubs and Cards have had some great battles at Busch, both old and new. As long as the Cards have Dave Duncan, Tony LaRussa, and Albert Pujols, don’t expect that to change any time soon.

8. Dolphin Stadium


The Cubs play all their home games in front of a full crowd. Maybe that’s why they can’t win in front of 3,000 fans in Florida.

7. Joe Lewis Arena


The Hawks may be ready to embark on a new era, but no Chicago fan will ever feel comfortable heading to Detroit to play the Wings. The Joe is the reason I won’t hate octopuses.

6. Palace of Auburn Hills


Michael had trouble winning there so do Luol and crew. And is there any single human in the entire world more annoying than the Pistons’ PA announcer?

5. Lambeau Field


Under Lovie Smith, sure, the Bears have played well in Lambeau. But when Brett Favre was in his heyday in the 90s, a trip to Green Bay meant an automatic loss.

4. Any west coast basketball stadium


There was a substantial period of time, during the late 90s and early 00s, when you could mark off a group of losses for the Bulls before the season even began. The annual Circus Trip to the west coast was that tough on the Bulls. Though they’ve been better lately- hey, they might actually win one or two games now!- things haven’t gotten that much better.

3. Astrodome


The Astrodome was a house of horrors for the Cubs for decades. Consider it the anti-Wrigley. While Cubs are used to playing under the sun, on natural grass, and with the aid of a strong wind, the Astrodome wouldn’t offer any of it.

2. McAfee Coliseum


Few things in life are more predictable than the outcome of a White Sox game in Oakland. When the Sox face the A’s on the road, they are almost certainly going to lose. Maybe it’s the huge foul territory or the adjustment to west coast time. Whatever it is, the Sox can’t win.

1. Metrodome


Was there ever any doubt? I think TUP contributor Bobby Stompy summed it up best:

"The Metrodome is by far the worst stadium ever. The inexplicable garbage bag in right field? The ceiling color scheme which causes outfielders to lose balls in the light? The fast track? The Twins success? Awful."

Agreed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went up to minnesota on a whim for last nights game, and what a piece of shit that stadium is. Normally when i go to see a new stadium, I like to do a little lap around the stadium and check things out, but I didnt even bother. By the time i got to my seat i was like "okay i get it, this stadium is awful". By the way, i paid $7 dollars and sat 10th row behind the Sox dugout. However, i do like the city of minneapolis. and once that new stadium is done, i will for sure have to go up there for a weekend series

Matthew Olsen said...

You went up to Minnesota on a whim?

I gotta give you props pz, I'm a die hard Sox fan and I wouldn't have ever driven up to Minny for that game.

What time did you leave, 7 a.m.?

BigRV said...

Since when do the Sox play the Raiders? Nice pic of the football layout in Oakland, not the baseball diamond. You never know, the way the Raiders are going, I'll put my money on the Sox to kick their butt too!

Anonymous said...

what about the way the Chicago teams play in, well, Chicago? I'm not sure there is any collection of fans that can change their hearts so quickly. One play, OHHH!!!YES!!!!WE ROCK!!! The following play, "OHHH!!!YOU SUCK!!! GET OF THE FIELD!!! It's not just for one sport either, all the teams in Chicago have these fans. Maybe teams around the world have these exact same fans, but I think that these fans are all harvested in Chicago before being sent forth into the world of arm chair quarterbacking and being 7th men

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