Eating Environment; Sports Venues



Any decent-sized sports venue offers a variety of concessions and meals- popcorn, soft drinks, beer, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, gyros, churros, cotton candy, etc. The moment you enter through the gates, it’s an eatery Palace of Versailles. Rows and rows filled with burger places, pizza places1, popcorn places- you name it, they have it. However good the variety is, the food experience at these venues are collectively horrific; the waves of spectators all crowding a tiny Little Caesars, trying to get a slice before the end of halftime2. The average wait time approximately 15-45 minutes depending if the game is close or a blowout3. After the exhausting wait to order, you pay $25.32 for a slice of pizza, drink, and popcorn. You pay the ridiculous price because that is the only option for food4. After another 30 minutes5 waiting for your food in the crowded sea of bathroomgoers, you finally get your reheated frozen pizza. Now you go back through the dreaded labyrinth to find section A-304. After a breath of relief, you go to take that ever-so-anticipated first bite out of your greasy, treasured pizza. Then, a foul ball wipes out everything in your hands6.

1By burger places I mean the true American McDonalds because where haven’t you seen those golden arches for crying out loud. And living in Southeast Michigan, these pizza places are almost always a Little Caesars.
2See fn 1.
3There are actually more factors accounting for the wait time of these venues. If you go during halftime, you can almost expect to wait the full 45 minutes- whereas if you go during playing time, the time starts to vary depending on the entertainment level of the game (Boring game=30 mins, exciting game=15 mins). Also, if the game is on a holiday (ex. Thanksgiving football game, the Fourth of July baseball game) or of importance (ex. World Series, Michigan vs. Ohio State) the interval increases to something more like 30-60 mins.
4Okay, this is a whole different can of worms. Like seriously, I already paid $47 for my upper deck seats (bought at a discount, by the way, on StubHub- original price $52), and they want to rob even more money?
5This also varies- see fn 3.
6Hey… but at least you got your son a foul ball, right?

Comments

  1. Natalie EighmeyFebruary 25, 2018 at 3:10 PM

    WONNIE!! YESSS!!! I loved how you incorporated footnotes like DFW did in “Consider the Lobster.” This was funny, entertaining, and crazyyyy accurate. Also, the ending!! HAHAHA! great job, dude :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guerrilla Art: Improving Public Space

Image
A French artist, “JR,” installed a giant cutout of an infant peering over the U.S.-Mexico border wall shortly after President Trump’s announcement to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This instalment is an example of guerrilla art, or art displayed publicly without permits from the government usually for political purposes. JR’s piece captures the true purpose of DACA- fulfilling a child’s curiosity by providing the opportunities for children illegal immigrants to have a better life in the United States. What used to be a dull, prohibiting eyesore was transformed into a powerful, more attractive POI. This specific guerrilla artwork was legally approved to be installed on the Mexican side for a month, but many others are done illegally. Many argue that for this reason, guerrilla art violates the public space and opinion. Although some guerrilla artists take it to the extreme such as naked Donald Trump statues, most others are an appropriat...
Read more

The Great Gatsby; Through the Historical Lens

Image
The Great Gatsby is based on the 1920’s New York City featuring two fictional places in Long Island- West Egg and East Egg. The “Roaring Twenties” was one of the most distinct and progressive eras in U.S. history. The post-WWI economic boom led to a wave of consumerism, soaring stock market, and higher standards of living. With the passage of the 19 th Amendment, women celebrated more freedom and moved away from traditional values through the flapper movement. Of course, all throughout this glamorous decade, the 18 th Amendment prohibited all sales, consumption, and production of alcohol. In The Great Gatsby , the consumerism of the Twenties is characterized by the car. The car emerged in the decade as a symbol of freedom, wealth, and social status. Any person wealthy enough to buy a car did so. Nick admires Gatsby’s “rich cream color, bright with nickel” car which symbolizes Gatsby’s great wealth (64). This wealth of the Twenties, however, does not last. Starting with the...
Read more