There are certain intrinsic characteristics about watching a sporting event at Wrigley Field. Old-time stadium charm. Soul-crushing disappointment from the local team. Uncomfortable eye contact at the men's room trough. And, of course, the chance to catch a game from the rooftops overlooking the field.
After yesterday's release of that rather awesome commercial, the hype machine is humming for the 2009 Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.
Today, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) is working on behalf of the rooftop club owners to get approval to sell tickets to the Classic on Jan. 1. Currently, the clubs' availability is limited to Cubs home games, according to the paper.
How much would rooftop access go for? From the Sun-Times:
Rooftop club owner Tom Gramatis said demand for tickets to the Winter Classic was "the biggest thing ever" when it was announced last summer. But then the economy went south and the buzz died down, so he has cut his price in half, to $200 a head, including food and drink.
Pending approval, is that experience worth the price, even after the reduction in cost?
Sports
East Coast Bias, in its review of Wrigley, wrote that they were "not sure why anybody would choose to watch from a rooftop bleacher and not from the stadium unless it is a corporate event."
But that's for baseball; what about for hockey?
We called on our Y! Sports blog buddy Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew, a Blackhawks fan who will be providing some on-site coverage of the Classic for Puck Daddy, to provide some Wrigley insight:
"I've been debating on whether or not I should sell my seats and head toward a rooftop, where they'll have food and drink included. I've seen two Cubs games from up there before, and while it's mostly a drunk-fest on par with attending a game in a skybox, you can still see a lot of the action -- so long as you're on one of the 'tops between the foul poles.
"The one big question mark is where the NHL will be placing the Jumbotron. You wouldn't want to pay that much to have your view blocked by a huge screen, of course."
According to the NHL, the puck will "drop somewhere between the pitcher's mound and second base," which should give you some idea of rink placement.
But yeah, that Jumbotron might be something to consider before freezing your ass off on top of a building for 200 bucks.
