I hope you enjoyed fireworks last night without blowing your hand off. I never quite got the attraction of holding lit sticks with small explosives made in unknown countries by craftsmen who earn nineteen cents a month.I saw a lovely fireworks display last night at the Hollywood Bowl. Of course, so did people who paid much less for seats than me and saw them just as well.
Being a baseball announcer I see firework shows at least five times a year. They’re usually on when I’m doing the postgame show, trying to read out-of-town scores while Baghdad is being bombed in the background.
When I broadcast for the Mariners we used to have indoor fireworks at the Kingdome. That never seemed like a good idea, and in fact ceiling tiles began plummeting to the ground.
And then of course there was the post game fireworks show at MacArthur Stadium when I was broadcasting for the Syracuse Chiefs. A spark started a brush fire beyond the left field wall.
But the best fireworks show I ever heard of was on July 5th, 1985. It was supposed to be a July 4th show. The Atlanta Braves were hosting the New York Mets that night. The game went 19 innings and ended at 3:55 in the morning. At 4:01 the show began. I’m sure the twelve people in the stands LOVED it.
Happy July 4th weekend. Drive safe out there.
Had second row seats -- well, actually "stands" -- on the overpass on FDR drive for the Macy's fireworks display tonight (the police warned people not to put their feet over the Jersey barrier onto the northbound lanes, or I believe Mayor Bloomberg was going to come by and run over them). By 9:15 and with the light sprinkles increasing to a mild drizzle, my friend was calling her daughter at home to find out what the hell NBC was doing on TV that they hadn't allowed the display to start yet, and we had already been up on the overpass for almost two hours.
ReplyDeleteThe way the wind was coming in from the northeast, the people in Brooklyn probably had a better look at the display, because the smoke cloud was blowing in front of the fireworks on the Manhattan side from the south two barges. Still a great display, even though getting out of the area was a nightmare and we had to take refuge in a local bar to let the crowds thin out.
(Also, most of MacArthur Stadium burned down in 1970, so they never had much luck with fire. Shouldn't happen with the new stadium though, which is made out of 115 percent concrete and has all the ambiance of the truck delivery entrance to a 1970s federal government office building.)
I remember going to a July 4th game at Dodger Stadium sometime in the late 80s, and not only did the falling debris set the hills on fire, it rained down on people in the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteGood times.
Best fireworks I ever saw was "Rhein in Flammen" when I was 19. We drove to Amsterdam to buy... erm... "provisions" and then from there to Cologne/Bonn. The most amazing thing there was a rocket/bomb that resultet in a huge ball of red flares that looked like a planet when half a second after it fully deployed a ring of yellow flares exploded within it, making it look like Saturn. Totally amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe don't celebrate independence day (obviously) but rather have fireworks on New Year's Eve. My flat is at the top of a hill looking towards another town. My first new year's the sky was totally clear and I could see about 30 miles of fireworks. Truly amazing :-)
I'm a little bit jealous that we germans still can't celebrate our country and have to resort to big soccer tournaments (European and World Cups). So we just had four weeks of european cup games where we were (again) able to attach flags to our cars and houses without feeling guilty, with "public viewings" during each game with tens of thousands in the city centers in front of jumbotrons. It was great - but without fireworks. We made it to the finals and lost to Spain. Kind of a lacking ending. But every game we won there were people on the streets celebrating - and since we have about 5 million turks living amongst us and them making it to the semi-finals, there were even more days we had parties :-)
Hopefully one day we'll be able to celebrate October 3rd (our national holiday celebrating the nation) without people feeling the need to put on red armbands.
Anyway, enjoy your long weekend :-)
Not technically fireworks, but when the Yankees were playing at Shea in 74 or 75, when YS was getting its $100 rehab, the local National Guard shot off a 21 gun salute - which blew huge chunks out of the outfield wall...
ReplyDeleteThe MacArthur Stadium fire was in 1969...I remember that only because I was in the 6th grade at the time and those of us who were in the Safety Patrol (street crossing duty) were supposed to be treated to a free game on "Safety Patrol Night"....the fire was a week or 2 before that would have happened.
ReplyDelete"big Mac" was rebuilt and the last game played there was in 1996. The new stadium (P&C Stadium, now Alliance Bank Stadium) opened in 1997 with that damned green rug for a field. This year we finally have REAL grass!
As for the Syrcuse Chiefs....well, they're still playing like the Syracuse Chiefs. You can take that any way you wish.
You never waste your money on the expensive seats during fireworks nights at the Hollywood Bowl! The best views are in the R,S,T sections.
ReplyDelete"I never quite got the attraction of holding lit sticks with small explosives made in unknown countries by craftsmen who earn nineteen cents a month."
ReplyDeleteWhatta great line!
When I was selling radio ads in Missouri, we visited a fireworks factory where I learned:
Never accept a job that requires wearing a large copper electrical grounding strap.
MLW said...
ReplyDeleteThe MacArthur Stadium fire was in 1969...I remember that only because I was in the 6th grade at the time and those of us who were in the Safety Patrol (street crossing duty) were supposed to be treated to a free game on "Safety Patrol Night"....the fire was a week or 2 before that would have happened.
I was two grades ahead of you, and recall that the Chiefs had to move some of their home games to Auburn and Oneonta before the ballpark was deemed usable. Even then, it was without the most of the grandstand area directly behind home plate, leaving it looking ridiculously gap-toothed for a few years.
"big Mac" was rebuilt and the last game played there was in 1996. The new stadium (P&C Stadium, now Alliance Bank Stadium) opened in 1997 with that damned green rug for a field. This year we finally have REAL grass!
The new park was built near the old one, and close to a transportation center that now includes Amtrak and a bus station. There were plans to extend OnTrack, a rail service that went from the university area to the Carousel Center (the mall that delivered the KO punch to Syracuse's dying downtown), to the transportation center -- but then OnTrack bit the dust.
As for the Syracuse Chiefs....well, they're still playing like the Syracuse Chiefs. You can take that any way you wish.
I know there's been talk of dumping the affiliation with the Blue Jays (jeez, I can recall seeing the Chiefs play Toronto when it was an International League franchise) and becoming a Mets affiliate. Not a bad idea, but I've suggested the Chiefs link up with the Washington Nationals (who are gradually building a good minor league system) and rename themselves the Syracuse Nationals, after the fabled NBA franchise.
Fireworks for those who missed it:
ReplyDeleteSssssssssssss.....boom! Ahhhhh...
Pow! crackle-crackle... Yayyyy
Kablooey! Whoaaaa...
was at the bowl last night.
ReplyDeleteespecially loved it when Tommy Lasorda referred to the Los Angeles "Philharmonica".
By the way, were you the guy who was conducting (and then taking a very big bow) from the hills up behind the Bowl? Hysterical
Ah, explosives. As the joke goes, what's the last thing a Southern boy ever says?
ReplyDelete"Here, watch 'is!"
If anyone gets excessively pyromaudlin, check out YouTube. My search string was "extreme fireworks".
There's some beauts there. The Guinness record for a city display was jaw-dropping, especially on the wide-angle shots. And check out the New Year's in Prague clip. Then guesstimate average alcohol consumption, in gallons per person.
Our knuckle-dragging ancestors did the same thing with shooting stars...
ReplyDeleteHairy Cave Man 1: hey, look, light in sky.
Hairy Cave Man 2: wow, light in sky.
Hairy Cave Man 3: (breaks from clubbing girlfriend) Must stare at light in sky!
Great blog by the way.
A friend of mine was not allowed to stay up and listen to the end of that Mets/Braves game on the radio.
ReplyDeleteI am told that the local news coverage in Atlanta the following night featuring shocked stadium neighbors woken in the middle of the night by explosions outside their windows was hilarious.
I was at the Orioles/Tigers game on Friday, July 18 and there was a fireworks game after the show. Shortly into it, a bush from the bullpen picnic area caught on fire. At Orioles Park, the bullpen is in direct center field with the picnic area behind it. We were in the left field corner and could clearly see flames shooting up. After a minute or two they were able to put it out, but the bush was not able to be saved... :) That was probably the most exciting fireworks show ever!
ReplyDelete