On 'Cleveland'
Field Notes from the Great Lakes Region
I just returned from a three-day trip to Cleveland, OH. We (Adam and I) were visiting our friend John. He recently signed a three-month lease. It was my second time; Adam’s first. John has lived there for about 3 weeks, and it’s his third time there.
When we tell people we’re visiting Cleveland - and when John told people he was moving there - people often laughed and asked us why we would ever want to visit. Or, they said something along the lines of “Oh, my family’s from up there. It’s too cold.” I had heard the stories of the river on fire, and I have seen the Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video and the more popular Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video: 2nd Attempt. A few notes:
The first video mentions “Both of our buildings.” They’re talking about Key Tower and Tower City. In the 16 years since this video was published, they’ve built a third building. The new Sherwin-Williams HQ is an over $300 million investment in downtown Cleveland. That should be telling.
The Flats no longer looks like a “Scooby Doo ghost town,” though I’ll admit that it does in the video they published. Instead, it feels like a new neighborhood. It’s got plenty of bars and restaurants, and there’s plenty of new housing. It felt safe and mostly clean, especially when it was busy. On Friday, after the Guards dropped one to the Braves 2-0, and Morgan Wallen finished night one of his two-night stopover during the “I’m the Problem Tour,” I was able to find a fun mix of baseball fans and Morgan Wallen aficionados, sure. But also Doctors from the local clinics, students at the schools, and people who grew up in Cleveland. My friend and I were the only people I could find who were on vacation but not for the MW Concert. I’m proud of that.
The River hasn’t caught fire in a very long time, and it’s become a place where people row, sail, and spend time on by way of the greenways and parks that the city has developed. Edgewater Park (on the banks of Lake Erie) was never not busy, and there was a very vibrant beach volleyball community. Disclaimer: I’ve only ever visited in August.
So what were we looking for? What did I like enough about Cleveland the first time that I convinced Adam to visit with me a second time? By the way, not only did we use precious vacation days to revisit, but revisiting itself is a faux pas in Adam and I’s travel habits. We broke a lot of rules.
Well. The people are friendly, it’s got a chip on its shoulder, it’s affordable, the sports teams are fun to root for, it’s got a sense of place, and I just plain like it. I have more to say about all of this - and maybe I will in a different brief - but this is starting to get long.
I will leave you with a brief story:
Progressive Field, recently redone. They’re calling it the most affordable field in baseball. They’re calling them “working man’s prices.” I can’t speak to real seats, but the Standing Room Only section only proves the point. First of all, for all of my Cleveland readers, you can get SRO season passes for $54/month, including fees. For visitors or less invested fans, SRO tickets are $20/game. Pretty affordable, especially considering that price includes your first beer (a 12oz lite beer but a beer nonetheless). Adam and I opted for that, and John already had his season pass.
On top of the very reasonable ticket prices, most Friday and Saturday games feature a “Pregame in the District” with $2 Coors or Miller Lites from the minute gates open until first pitch. And on top of reasonable ticket prices and “cheaper than dive bar” beer prices, occasionally they will have a Sugardale Dog Night (HQ - Canton, OH). $1 Dogs while supplies last. Stock up early; otherwise, you’ll be hungry come the 7th inning stretch, and they’ll be out of dogs.
So anyway, we walk into Progressive Field and are one of the first 10,000 fans. BANG. Free shirt. We walk to the hot dog cart.
“6 dogs, please.”
“That’ll be $6.” Sure, I’ll leave a tip. Why not.
We walk up to the beer cart.
“2 Coors, please.” They check our IDs, but I appreciate the due diligence. Plus, they recognize me the second, third, fourth, and fifth times I visit in the next 2 hours. You may be worried about our beer getting cold during the game. Don’t be. We brought a cooler.
“That’ll be $4.”
I tip again. Generously. I feel like Jay Gatsby.
We walk down to the SRO section and make friends. Matthew and Matthew. They know Mitch Trubisky; used to party with his brother. And yeah, Mitch follows them on Instagram. Apparently, 20 of their closest friends are coming to the game. Just like they do every Friday and Saturday. And, they’re willing to make introductions. Now I’ve got 20 new friends to watch the game with, plenty of beer to drink, and more hot dogs to eat than I have in the past 6 months combined. And a free t-shirt. If you’re keeping track, I’ve spent $30.
Nobody throws their beer cans away. Ushers try to take them all the time. “They’re full. They’re full of beer,” We say. Who cares. Sometimes it feels good to lie. Especially when the 8th inning comes around, it’s finally time to put together the beer tower, and you’re looking at 150 empty Coors Lite cans. You’re not allowed to stack cans. Apparently, they’ve had this problem before. We’re stacking. High. The ushers keep knocking down our towers. But we do it. Everyone does it. They get knocked over, and we keep doing it. The ushers get booed. It feels good to boo with 40 other 20-somethings high on baseball, 80° summer weather, and free beer and food. Well, basically free.
The Guardians dropped the game to the Braves 2-0. They lost Saturday’s 10-1. They lost Sunday’s 5-4. I don’t care that my second-favorite AL team got swept by the 4th worst NL team (at time of writing). Instead, I’m left wondering if I’m “being young” correctly while living in my relatively small city full of young couples, mature families, and retirees. I don’t know. More on that later. I probably have more notes on The Land. We did Cuyahoga Falls National Park. We did Ohio City. And we did the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. When we tell people in Cleveland that we love their city, they say, “We know. Don’t tell anyone.”
MUSICAL CODA