Changes at Wrigley

I received a tip on this from a reader yesterday and went to the story at ballparkdigest.com. Then, I read it. Then, there was a bit of a pain where my heart used to be. Then, I got over it because, well, I don't have a heart.

Cubs show tradition the door with ad deal

Bricks and ivy have made up most of the outfield walls at Wrigley Field for the last 70 years, but the Cubs will alter the ballpark's famous backdrop for at least the next two years with advertisements on the old green doors.

The Cubs announced a multiyear deal Wednesday with Under Armour, a sports apparel company, agreeing to place its logo and name on the outfield doors. Terms of the agreement were not announced, but the ads will be in place at least through 2008.

By mid-May, the Under Armour ads will be surrounded by the ivy that Bill Veeck helped plant 70 years ago to beautify a ballpark that eventually turned into a baseball mecca. Cubs marketing director Jay Blunk said the skyrocketing cost of player salaries necessitated the change, though he knows the decision may upset traditionalists.

"Our track record with the subtle changes, year after year, speaks for itself," Blunk said. "Going all the way back to the lights, the skyboxes, the rotational signage in 2004 behind the plate, the dugout signage, which we started in 2000, and all the subtle changes we've done to update Wrigley Field and keep Wrigley Field from becoming financially obsolete.
...
Will modern-day bleacherites—who will pay as high as $42 a ticket this year—really care about a couple of ads on the wall? The Cubs are betting the answer is no and would argue the Boston Red Sox's owners have made substantial changes the last few years to historic Fenway Park, including putting fans on top of and ads on the Green Monster, the park's iconic left-field wall.

I'd put a picture of it up here, but: a.) I have to register at tribune.com and b.) I really don't want to put that up here. Follow the link up top to get an idea.

What do Cub fans have to say? Or, more accurately, what do Cub fans with blogs have to say?

Two posts at the beautifully named Goatriders of the Apocalypse:

Memo to Cub fans: Get Over It

Look, so what if the Cubs are putting ads on Wrigley Field? It's money for the team, and money for the team means money to pony up for Carlos Zambrano, and money to pony up for Carlos Zambrano means playoff runs and greatness. I'll put it to you another way. If the Cubs reached the World Series this October, I wouldn't care if I was sitting in the Gieco Upper Deck of the newly named Viagara Presents Wrigley Field for the Virgin Mobile sponsored Chicago Cubs. Seriously.

The bottom line is winning, and Wrigley Field enthusiasts should quite frankly feel lucky that the ballpark hasn't been plowed over* or abandoned for a fifty-five thousand seat super mega complex with a delux jumbotron scoreboard and heated seats for those cold April days and nights. So, let them sell ads. Hell, I think there should be more ads. They should buy out the buildings across the street and destroy the skyline by plastering 40-feet tall billboards all over the place. They should have on-the-field mid-inning entertainment, which would consist of really attractive half-naked people running around with signs and banners promoting any product that's willing to pay money for it.

*-He knows that Wrigley is protected by the city and won't be plowed over.

Stay Tuned; Next We'll Give You This Week's Winning Lottery Numbers

The responses to the Cubs' announcement that they will put advertisements for Under Armor sportswear on the doors on the outfield wall have been rather predictable.

Beat writer Paul Sullivan starts beating his drum rather loudly and, in his effort to wear the "Bob-Greene-woe-is-the-innocence-lost" hat, he makes a pretty funny factual mistake.

The current outfield walls were constructed in a 1937 remodeling project and the doors were painted green to blend in with the ivy.

Umm, Paul, you do know that for years and years and years, those doors were RED, don't you?