OAKLAND A'S - 2010

 

 

KANSAS CITY ROYALS - 2011
In 2011, the group visited Kauffman Stadium to root for the Kansas City Royals against the Boston Red Sox.  Although not on the "endangered species" list of stadiums (or stadia for fans of latin), Kauffman was chosen as the destination in a season in which there did not appear to be the imminent demise of another ballpark. 

This season, the group expanded, once again, to include Jeffrey's younger brother Matthew. 

An Act of Kindness..........

We would like to give a shout out to Matthew's two new girlfriends who were kind enough to give one of the batting practice home runs they caught to Matthew.  Thank you ladies!!!!!

---

I surprised the group with a full access pass to the game including field access for batting practice and the National Anthem.  After the game each of us was given an autographed bat, ball, hat and other Royals swag.  

Jeffrey "won" the hot dog toss.  Caught part of the bun and tried to negotiate with the dude behind him who caught the dog...............

Our guide/escort for our all access experience before  Saturday evening's game.  Morrie Carlson is a great asset to the Royals organization!

Another shining star in the Royals organization is one of the supervisors for the ushers.  We told you we would include you Trish.............

TAMPA BAY RAYS - 2012

The 2012 season saw the group exhibit their masochistic tendencies by choosing Tampa Bay for their annual trek.  Now that the group has expanded (by one more child this year - more on this later......) and John is well on his way to becoming Father John, it is difficult to pick a weekend that suits all schedules.  So lo and behold, we chose Tampa..........in August..........the weekend before the Republican National Convention........just as the political hot air was about to combine with the humidity to create Hurricane Isaac!!!!

Despite the potential for a disastrous trip, all went well and a great time was had by all.  Even taking into consideration the security threat posed by Bob and his seemingly innocent wave..........in the direction of a police/swat/secret service team positioned in the stadium during batting practice.  (once again, more on this later...............)

But now on to the pics................

This is the infamous photo that alerted the security team to swarm around Bob and detain him for 15 minutes.  We always get to the park as soon as the gates open to catch batting practice and to allow Bob to get photos of the stadium.  Well it seems that when you go to a city like Tampa where nobody goes to the games and Bob takes the seat in the last row of the upper deck behind home plate with a Canon L series lens, and he is all alone in the upper deck, and then he waves at the rest of the group in right field to get their attention, that innocent little wave also attracts the attention of the police/SWAT/secret service positioned throughout the stadium during the RNC.  After an intensive background check and review of the photos on the memory card as well as   text message chat logs in addition to a review of www.DeadStadiumTour.com, the officers who surrounded Bob eventually left him to continue his photographic efforts (but also ended up positioning one of the investigating officers in our section directly in front of us to keep an eye on Bob and our group the entire game!)

So to the Barney Fife SWAT sniper who used his binoculars to hone in on Bob's threatening wave to the group in right field, we say thanks for the memories.......

Have you ever seen that annoying dude who goes behind the news reporter on TV and makes funny faces while the report is airing live? Well it didn't take much effort on our part to challenge Matthew to try out his skills during a live broadcast feed.......

23 Years together - - - and they never had a fight...................

12 year old Lauren made her debut this year and quickly learned the skills displayed by the boys - she caught 6 foul balls, collected 6 autographs on one ball and managed to charm her way down to the front row in every part of the stadium......

A couple of seasons ago John decided to leave his successful Princeton based law firm that he helped found and join the seminary.  Although his Ordination is not scheduled until May 2014, as the trip began he learned that his 85 year old neighbor just passed away and the family would appreciate if he could attend the wake and accompany them to the cemetery.  Father John had to cut short his weekend with us after one game but we made sure a "shout out" included him during Game 2.

Dick Vitale was in attendance for Game 2 and Rich was quick with the camera to grab a shot of Dick with Matt and Jeff.

Bob is hoping to license this photo to "that company" for their advertising campaign.  That is, if he can get the Secret Service to unshackle him long enough to ink the deal.........

Since it was Lauren's "major league debut" with The Tour, we decided to surprise her with her name on the jumbotron scoreboard in the 4th inning...........

Bob has been trying for years to get one of the stadiums to agree to put the website on their scoreboard during a game.  Every stadium has refused on the basis that they do not permit "commercial advertising" on their scoreboards.  Despite politely asking each front office to review this website and make an exception for us, every one has refused.  That is, until the Tampa Bay Rays!!!!   Thank you Rays for your support and we are now pleased to make you our headline banner on every page on this website!

Fortunately attendance was low so we were able to fit both Bob and his ego in the stadium..........

Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

“Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

(aka Dan & Jeff demonstrate how to drown worms.........)

This photo was taken from Dan's balcony. The back story is Bob was driving all of us  around in a 15 passenger van that did not fit into the hotel garage and would only fit on the top deck after making a 90 degree turn up a steep, narrow ramp that afforded only 4 inches clearance on both sides if done correctly. This satellite truck came in for the convention and the genius driver thought it would be okay to block the left side of the entrance. Most cars could fit but we couldn't. After Bob waited patiently for 6 minutes while a hotel employee tried to suggest he back out for 10 seconds to allow the van  in , Bob  exited our van and asked the same thing. The driver said he didn't like Bob's  attitude which, of course, prompted Bob to now display his  native NY attitude. He refused to move so Bob drove the van along side of him, blocking all access to the hotel and arriving Republicans and media, locked the  van and walked away saying he would return when the driver moved his satellite truck. 20 minutes and 5 hotel managers later, they rented a parking spot for him in the motel next door and Bob moved the van.

---

EPILOGUE

If you ever dreamed of catching a home run hit during a major league game......................

Then you should make sure you are not holding a beer in one hand
and
your cell phone in the other!

Till next season....................

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base."   Dave Barry

JUST ANNOUNCED
THE DEAD STADIUM TOUR HAS SELECTED AS THEIR 2013 DESTINATION......

As part of the planning process, we always contact the team's ticket office to explain who we are and what we are doing and then request assistance with putting together a ticket package to get the most out of the fan experience.  This year one of the Jays' employees deserves a shout out here - - - Robbie McFarland.  Robbie read our email, accommodated our request for tickets in 3 different locations not blocked by netting (ruins the photo ops) and was extremely helpful and personable.   Robbie is a fine example of guest relations in the Blue Jays organization and we wanted to let our readers hear about him.  Looking forward to our trip up North this season!

p.s.  and Blue Jays fans please do not fret - our selection of the Jays this season is not a statement that the Stadium is set for demolition, but rather it was selected as the best location to visit in a season where no stadiums are scheduled to be razed.

JOHN HAS HIS OWN "OPENING DAY"

For the last several years, John has been studying in the Seminary to become a Catholic Priest.  We have accommodated his studies by scheduling our travels around his seminary studies and we are pleased to announce that on May 18, 2013, John completed his first Ordination on his way to the Priesthood and is now Deacon John Butler.  Rich attended John's Ordination on May 18 and then Dan and Bob attended John's first mass at St. Paul's in Princeton on May 19, 2013.  Congratulations John!!!

JEFFREY'S DEBUT MUSIC VIDEO

During the "off season", Jeffrey finalized his college application process and worked on his musical talents by forming "Three for Five" based in Pennsylvania.  Here is the band's debut music video.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS- 2013

For the first  time ever, the local stadium front office refused to give a shout out to "The Dead Stadium Tour" on the jumbotron.  We were told that they are not "dead" and  the connotation is not appropriate.   We explained we picked Toronto because  nothing is being torn down this season and we felt Toronto was the best choice  among non-endangered stadiums.  After refusing that shout out, they then  rejected the following choices:

 1.  The D... Stadium Tour
2.  The __  Stadium Tour
3.  The **** Stadium Tour
4.  The I'm Not Dead Yet Stadium Tour
5.  The Undead Zombies From Mars Stadium Tour 

So it was agreed that the following Welcome would be given:  

For those of you who have actually followed this site over the years and watched the group grow, there is a new face this year - we will call her "Lauren 2" and the need to assign numbers was the result of the next scoreboard shoutout given by the Jays.   But you will need to scroll down further to see what we mean..........

Our seats were chosen out of almost 40,000 fans to win gift certificates for a local Canadian mens' tailor.  If only we were staying longer we could leave with a new wardrobe.........

Lauren 1 and Lauren 2 showing their shy and reserved sides as they run the bases............

Lauren 1 showing off her "gets" for the day - 5 autographs on a baseball from the Oakland A's and a baseball cap autographed by the Blue Jays' catcher

The Toronto Blue Jays play on Astroturf and have a retractable roof.  They do not use real grass because the roof is closed more than it is open.  They will retract the roof only for games with good weather and then close it up again after the game, even on a beautiful sunny day.  It takes 22 minutes for the roof to close completely.

A special thank  you shout out goes to Rocco who was the Blue Jays usher at Section 524B right behind home plate.  Not only did he volunteer to take the group photo above but he was a great guy with lots of knowledge of the Blue Jays and Canadian baseball.  Great chatting with you Rocco.  The Blue Jays are lucky to have someone like you in the organization who knows how to make the fans feel welcome.  Thank you!!!!

The 25th Anniversary Destination in 2014 is................................

The 2014 season marks the 25th Anniversary of the Tour.  There are no stadiums scheduled for extinction this year so Denver has been chosen as one of the few remaining cities not visited for the first time.  Ultimately, after we have seen every team once we will then start all over and visit all teams in their "new" stadiums (which will be "old" by the time the Tour begins its second phase).

As we prepare to travel to Denver, we would like to give advance notice to our followers that the group will be short one this year but for a good reason - John has now officially become the Rev. John K. Butler after his Ordination on May 31, 2014.  John now holds the title of "Father John" and has been assigned to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, the Mother Church of the Diocese of Trenton.  This Cathedral is also where John's Ordination was held.  His new responsibilities at the Cathedral will require him to miss the 25th Anniversary of the Tour but we will make sure to look for a helmet (and souvenir soda cups) to bring back to him.  Here are a few photos from John's Ordination (which was played before a sold out crowd and for which we had lousy seats - thanks John, we should have gone through StubHub!).

The 25th Anniversary of the Tour got under way at Coors Field on August 14, 2014 with a Rockies win over the Reds.  Coors Field, although 20 years old, is amazingly clean and fresh feeling and is a great stadium in which to watch a ballgame.  And as has become the tradition, the Rockies gave us a shout out to start the series....................

No trip to the Denver area would be complete without a group photo with Big Foot and a trip to the summit of Pike's Peak......

John's duties at the Cathedral on August 15th, a holy day, prevented him from being physically present  at Coors Field but that does not mean he was not "here" with us.........................

After 25 years on The Tour, we had a first - a postponement due to a water main break outside the stadium that closed down all the concessions except for beer and CLOSED ALL THE BATHROOMS!!!!!!!!!

After Game 3 was canceled due to no water, Matt was seen drowning his sorrows over the disappointing news.........

Despite the water main break making us miss Game 3 of the series, the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Dead Stadium Tour provided exciting baseball and beautiful vistas.  Until next year when it looks like we will be visiting Atlanta for the second time, we leave you with a little Rocky Mountain high (no, not that type of high thanks to legalization of alternative brownies.............)