When we were young, if we were lucky, our dads took us to the ball park. We would gorge on hot dogs as long as our arms, we would eat stale popcorn and eat ice cream that was really made of cream. We would be wearing our favorite team's logo hats, and our dads would teach us how to use a score card. We would see our favorite players who towered above us, and we would marvel at their skill. We would visit such places as Joe Robey stadium, or Candlestick Park. There was a feel to the power of the park.

Those times are gone, and in their place are parks like LP Field, and or US Cellular Field. Old man Commisky must be rolling in his grave. The old times parks that had those great names have been taken over by money hungry owners who would squeeze a dime out of a rotten egg if they could. They have gouged the public to the point where the average day at the park for a family of four at a baseball game is over $190.00, and it's much worse for a baseball game where the day will cost that same family over $321.00 to see their team. It has become a once a year event for many families, and for some, not even that often.

It was announced this week that one of the last of the old time parks will be available for renaming quite soon, as one of the oldest parks in America (second only to Fenway), Wrigley Field will get a new Christening all too soon. How can that happen. The loveable losers in Chicago have been known for that quaint park named for the chewing gum baron for almost a century, as a matter of fact, six years before the old girl is eligible to be interviewed by the today show, she will get a new name.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of two or three others that have maintained the names we grew up with, Dodger Stadium. Fenway Park and Soldier Field. If Wrigley can fall, how much longer will these stadiums last.

Years from now, when our children take their kids to see a game, I can only envision one standing the test of time. Soldier Field (brought to you by Ford, have you driven a ford lately, and Bounty, the quicker picker upper, and the Pepsi Generation)

Attyla