Contemplating The Rockies Home Opener At Illegal Pete's In Lakewood

I had a late lunch with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph on the left, at the recently opened Illegal Pete's in Lakewood, Colorado. I actually like this place - it was pretty crowded for a weekday afternoon and has a nice patio, with a view of Crown Hill Park across the street, and beyond that, Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery, for those who want to contemplate eternity. In Lakewood you take whatever view you can get. Today, of course, is the Colorado Rockies Home Opener at Coors Field here in Denver. Sadly, the excitement has been tempered by the fact that the Rockies have started the season 1-6, including the worst season opener in franchise history, losing by a score of 16-1. My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, are not much better, with a 1-5 record. On the other hand, the Chicago Cubs are 4 and 2, a mere 1.5 games out of first place. Of course, 3 of those wins were against the lowly Rockies. I asked Stuart, who is originally from the North Side of Chicago and a Cubs fan (I am, of course, from the South Side), his opinion of the team, and he is very dubious about their chances. Since they are starting a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers today, reality might soon set in.

Neither Stuart nor I will be attending the Rockies Home Opener this afternoon. Standing room only will be close to $60 with internet fees, and a seat in the upper deck behind home plate almost $90. And God knows what they will be charging for a beer this year. Plus, it is probably a small thing, but the team no longer launches balloons after the Opening Day ceremonies are concluded, such as in the photograph on the right that I took back in 2013. Evidently those balloons are bad for the environment, unlike bad baseball. Their absence makes for a far less interesting photograph of the ceremonies. And so, it will probably be best to just sit on the patio at Illegal Pete's, look out at the seven-story 1920s era mausoleum at Crown Hill Cemetery, and wonder if you will wind up there long before your baseball team makes the playoffs again. Let's Play Ball!