I went to the Cubs game on Monday night and sat in a section I hadn't sat in before: Aisle 239. The seats were fantastic for a number of reasons. Here's a photograph of the view from Aisle 239.
Pros
• Great views of everything, the game, people in the stands, people on the Cubs Rooftops
• Can see everything in the stadium, except about five foot zone from the rightfield foul wall
• Conveniently located by rightfield entrance, which is close to the El stop, Harry Caray's statue, Harry Caray's bar, the Sports Corner, and Bacci's Pizzeria.
• Convenient to non-crowded bathrooms. Go down the stair well by the Sheffield lounge and there is a set of restrooms that are significantly less busy than most of the Wrigley Field restrooms.
Cons
• Aisle 239 is far down the right field line. The angles are long, so a tall person in front of you could obstruct a large swath of the field. (However, the vertical staging of the seats is pretty good in that section.
• The seat angle (when facing straight forward) is more directed toward third base than home plate. I had a bit of a sore neck from sitting at an angle and then twisting to see the scoreboard.
So there you have it, a review of Aisle 239... oh and the ticket price? $24 for an April weeknight game. Not bad at all, and even better since I was given my ticket, so I can start saving up for my World Series tickets as the Cubs' World Series odds skyrocket.
I went to the Cubs game last night and used one of my favorite strategies to score cheap Cubs tickets. Here's how it works.
First, this strategy doesn't always work, but it's more reliable than your usual MLB Odds. Anyhow, the best games for this strategy are night games and mid-week day games... or any time when the park is 90% full. (This typically equates to nights when announced attendance is 38,000 to 39,000.)
Basically the strategy is to watch an inning or two at a local establishment, and then venture over to one of the ticket brokers. Offer them a low-ball price, say $10, and ask them what they'll give you. Generally, they'll sell you a decent upper deck seat for $10 (see picture below. These were my seats last night.) If they won't, keep on walking and ask the next guy standing out on a stoop with a fist-full of tickets.
You see, the brokers never actually go to the games, they just sell tickets. If the game ends and they're still holding onto a ticket, they lost money. So, if you come strolling by after all the actual customers have ponied up for the games, and offer $10, they have no reason not to give you a ticket. They can either have $10 or a nicely printed ticket worth $0. And, if you're a decent negotiator, then you might offer up $20 and get a good lower level seat.
Now, the odds are: this strategy will not work on Saturdays, Friday day games, or any of the big draw games (like Cubs vs. Sox or Cubs vs. Cardinals.) It doesn't work then because there are just too many people looking for tickets and there won't be any left in the second inning.
For various reasons, almost all of them commercial, I am going to resume blogging here. This is not going to impact my involvement at Goat Riders, but will be some supplemental information, mostly related to the Wrigley experience and the ticket market.
Aight, more later. For now, here's a little Ron Stilanovich. Geovany Soto's been taking lessons.
