Existing comment:
From sandlots to stadiums, social bonds, collective memories, and shared familiarity unite fans and spectators whether they are seated in beach chairs on the sidelines, in the bleachers, or in club-level cushioned seats. Major League Baseball dramatically altered the game's natural rhythms on the evening of May 24, 1935, when President Franklin Roosevelt symbolically flipped a switch in Washington, D.C., that lit up Ohio's Crosley Field, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Since then, for many teams, baseball's day games gradually dwindled and nine innings filled its nights.
Meanwhile, the ballpark experience is a balance of the classic and the current. Traditional live organ music succumbed to the batter's customized walk-up song. Gourmet and ethnic cuisine now join hot dogs and popcorn on the concession stand menu. And the $5 ticket is still available, though it once sat fans behind home plate rather than 500 feet away from it. |