Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

When it’s sports vs. movies, sports always wins

Take me out to the movies

Ah, the memories. Of the smell of cigar smoke, stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, steamed weenies, and urine.
Ah, the memories. Of the smell of cigar smoke, stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, steamed weenies, and urine.

Martin Scorsese was once asked his opinion of professional sports. “Sports?” he scowled. “Anything with a ball, no good!”

Forgive me Marty, for I have sinned. True, there is no bigger waste of time than watching a bunch of testosterone-fueled gorillas hit, kick, or dribble a ball for two hours. But Chicago is a year-round sports town where even the staunchest sportsophobe would find it hard to avoid coverage of the myriad of local teams.

Wrigley Field had always been a favored destination for summer camp sojourns. The counselors spent more time herding brats in the grandstands than they did watching the game. As soon as we were old enough to ride the Howard Line to Chicago’s Loop without the aid of an adult, the majority of the neighbor kids made a bee-line for the ballpark. Many a day Group A would exit at the Addison stop while Group B continued south to catch a movie in one of downtown Chicago’s decaying picture palaces.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As a kid, there was something magical about being one of 30,000 fans jamming the friendly confines. Today, I’d reach for a Xanax. Some get off on the smell of gasoline, a freshly opened can of tennis balls, or a newly mown lawn. None compare with stadium air steeped in the heady aroma of cigar smoke mixed with stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, and steamed weenies. And urine. The majority of the patrons in the grandstands sweat 90 proof. A drunken Cub fan leave their seat to visit the restroom? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

An aversion to professional sports began to emerge around the time of my bar mitzvah. That was the same year the Cubs famously went down swinging against the miracle Mets. Tribune-owned WGN-TV not only had a lock on just about every sports franchise, they also owned the rights to the biggest movie package in town.

Art always took a back seat to sports in Chicago. Rival station WLS-TV also boasted a rather impressive vault, including the Paramount library and all of the pre-1948 RKO features. Their 90-minute 3:30 Movie slot reduced any film, no matter the running time, to 72 minutes. The station was known to show the Astaire/Rogers musical Top Hat minus the titular music number to fit the time slot.

“Due to the length of tonight’s baseball game, we begin this program already in progress.” It was the one sentence this budding film-lover never wanted to hear. It wasn’t Hitchcock’s fault that the game went into extra innings or that a rain shower delayed the outcome.

Why punish fans who waited past midnight to see North by Northwest in its entirety? Any attempt to prohibit me from watching movies would be dealt with severely. There would be one more game – Opening Day, 1972 – before sports held as much interest to me as did contracting typhus.

I came by my disdain for sports semi-honestly. Larry could have cared less about professional sports – you can count on one finger the number of baseball games he took me to – but Babe followed the Cubs religiously. She’d go to sleep with a transistor radio tucked beneath her pillow. Mom’s macular degeneration was so bad towards the end she’d have to sit sideways at just the right angle to catch the TV out of the corner of her eye. She never missed a game.

The last sporting event I witnessed in its entirety took place almost 30 years ago when the Cubs failed to make it past the playoffs. Unable to name so much as one player on the current roster, this weekend still found me making up for lost time, watching all three of the games televised from Wrigley Field. Something tells me Babe would have wanted it that way. Wherever she is, here’s hoping the view is better. Go Cubs!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Next Article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Ah, the memories. Of the smell of cigar smoke, stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, steamed weenies, and urine.
Ah, the memories. Of the smell of cigar smoke, stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, steamed weenies, and urine.

Martin Scorsese was once asked his opinion of professional sports. “Sports?” he scowled. “Anything with a ball, no good!”

Forgive me Marty, for I have sinned. True, there is no bigger waste of time than watching a bunch of testosterone-fueled gorillas hit, kick, or dribble a ball for two hours. But Chicago is a year-round sports town where even the staunchest sportsophobe would find it hard to avoid coverage of the myriad of local teams.

Wrigley Field had always been a favored destination for summer camp sojourns. The counselors spent more time herding brats in the grandstands than they did watching the game. As soon as we were old enough to ride the Howard Line to Chicago’s Loop without the aid of an adult, the majority of the neighbor kids made a bee-line for the ballpark. Many a day Group A would exit at the Addison stop while Group B continued south to catch a movie in one of downtown Chicago’s decaying picture palaces.

Sponsored
Sponsored

As a kid, there was something magical about being one of 30,000 fans jamming the friendly confines. Today, I’d reach for a Xanax. Some get off on the smell of gasoline, a freshly opened can of tennis balls, or a newly mown lawn. None compare with stadium air steeped in the heady aroma of cigar smoke mixed with stale Old Style, roasted peanuts, and steamed weenies. And urine. The majority of the patrons in the grandstands sweat 90 proof. A drunken Cub fan leave their seat to visit the restroom? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

An aversion to professional sports began to emerge around the time of my bar mitzvah. That was the same year the Cubs famously went down swinging against the miracle Mets. Tribune-owned WGN-TV not only had a lock on just about every sports franchise, they also owned the rights to the biggest movie package in town.

Art always took a back seat to sports in Chicago. Rival station WLS-TV also boasted a rather impressive vault, including the Paramount library and all of the pre-1948 RKO features. Their 90-minute 3:30 Movie slot reduced any film, no matter the running time, to 72 minutes. The station was known to show the Astaire/Rogers musical Top Hat minus the titular music number to fit the time slot.

“Due to the length of tonight’s baseball game, we begin this program already in progress.” It was the one sentence this budding film-lover never wanted to hear. It wasn’t Hitchcock’s fault that the game went into extra innings or that a rain shower delayed the outcome.

Why punish fans who waited past midnight to see North by Northwest in its entirety? Any attempt to prohibit me from watching movies would be dealt with severely. There would be one more game – Opening Day, 1972 – before sports held as much interest to me as did contracting typhus.

I came by my disdain for sports semi-honestly. Larry could have cared less about professional sports – you can count on one finger the number of baseball games he took me to – but Babe followed the Cubs religiously. She’d go to sleep with a transistor radio tucked beneath her pillow. Mom’s macular degeneration was so bad towards the end she’d have to sit sideways at just the right angle to catch the TV out of the corner of her eye. She never missed a game.

The last sporting event I witnessed in its entirety took place almost 30 years ago when the Cubs failed to make it past the playoffs. Unable to name so much as one player on the current roster, this weekend still found me making up for lost time, watching all three of the games televised from Wrigley Field. Something tells me Babe would have wanted it that way. Wherever she is, here’s hoping the view is better. Go Cubs!

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.