With baseball season right around the corner, it seemed like the right time to talk about Dodger Stadium.  Baseball always has and always will run a clear third in the sports fandom for me behind football and basketball.  Growing up as a Kansas City kid, my main team will always be the Royals.  One of my earliest sports memories of any type is 1985, when the hometown team took those bastard St. Louis Cardinals to 7 games and won the World Series.  As time has gone on though, baseball has truly become a sport of the haves and have nots now.  My only desire for the Royals every year is to be competitive day to day; even with a Cy Young winner we’d need a hell of a lot of help just to win the division.

Even though I didn’t make it out to my first game until last season (hanging my head in shame), Dodger Stadium was one of my first stops when I came to L.A. for the first time as a tourist.  The sports fan in me knew the Dodgers franchise had a rich history, both on the field (Lasorda and Kurt Gibson) and off it (Jackie Robinson and Vin Scully).  Whoever was in charge of building Dodger Stadium had the great insight to take full advantage of the natural scenery; the natural California climate and view make it one of the more enjoyable ballparks to spend an afternoon in.

I’m stealing this line from someone I can’t remember, but it’s true: baseball’s great advantage over the other major sports going forward is that its slow, deliberate pace make it ideal as a day out for the family.  I can’t even remember who they played the day I was out there, but I remember all of this: great view (mentioned above), Dodger dogs (delicious), a father explaining to his son how to use a baseball scorecard and what was going on (Hallmark worthy), being able to hold a regular conversation with my friend without missing any of the action or not being able to hear each other because of fans who wouldn’t shut up (built in baseball advantage), and wondering why in the hell it took so long to get out to Dodger Stadium.

All of that, and like I said, I’m not a baseball diehard, just a hardcore sports fan.  Dodger Stadium is a great place to get away to for a few hours.