Nightdragon meets Glenn Ordway!
July 26, 2002 ~ 11:59 p.m.
BOSTON, MA�Well, sports fans, I have just witnessed my first Red Sox game in just over two years, and the bums stunk it up big-time. They played horribly against the Baltimore Orioles, a sub-.500 team. In fact, the Sox have gone 3-5 against teams with records below the .500-mark over the course of the past week. The situation (and the standings) do not look optimistic. So, us die-hards are muttering our perennial mantra, �wait till next year,� under our breaths.
But no matter how horribly the home team played, I saw that classic palace of baseball folklore and history, past and present � Fenway Park. Looking at the fa�ade on Yawkey Way, I looked back in time, to 1912, when guys like Tris Speaker were leading the Sox toward the World Series. And the sight of players in uniforms, the Green Monster, the Triangle, the neon Citgo sign, the right field bleachers where �the wave� always originates, spectators in Sox caps and �Yankees Suck� t-shirts � that is where the pleasure lies. Everybody wants a win. But, for one Sox fan who hasn�t seen the home team play live for over 2 years on account of living in the U.K., just being in the oldest shrine to the game of baseball that America has to offer was seventh heaven. Fenway Park is where the city of Boston really comes alive, and that was no less true tonight than at any other time in the past.
The Red Sox seem to be pulling the plug on the 2002 season. But being among thousands of fellow Red Sox fans at Fenway � that is priceless, no matter what the final score. How I�ve missed it. And how good it was to see and experience it all over again.
I have another reason to be walking on air tonight, despite a disappointing loss. For I have met a local celebrity.
There is an afternoon �drive-time� sports talk program on the AM dial called The Big Show � �with �the Big O�,� so goes the refrain. The Big O is none other than Glenn Ordway, who is the host and program director. He has assembled a cast of sports writers and commentators from around the Boston sports scene who add their own thoughts and help to share viewpoints. But it�s Glenn Ordway who is the most recognizable voice and his caustic sense of humor and cynicism is what drives the show into the local ratings stratosphere. Ordway�s sense of humor and the way he parries with his co-hosts and callers alike has me worshipping at his altar. Some people can�t stand him � I absolutely love him. I remember the late �80s when he did color commentary at Celtics games with the legendary (and late) Johnny Most. WEEI struck oil when they hired Ordway to host a four-hour afternoon sports program. In fact, I feel sorry for other folks across the country who don�t live in Boston and don�t know about Ordway, because he really is the funniest sonuvabitch.
(NOTE: Readers of my Boston travel journal, written last year, may notice the heavy references I make to sports culture and sports talk radio in Boston. It is mostly �the Big Show� and Ordway that I had in mind when I wrote that part of the journal.)
Normally, Ordway and his co-hosts broadcast from WEEI�s Huntington Streeet studio, but on this day, they were conducting their program in a makeshift studio just across the street from Fenway Park. As my friend John and I were walking down Yawkey Way toward the gate, I took a few minutes to peek into the first floor windows, enjoying the sight of Ordway and pals at work, laughing at their jokes and horseplay. Then we headed for our gate.
In these nervous days post-Sept. 11, I was informed that my knapsack would not be allowed into the ballpark. So, John gave me the keys to the trunk of his car, and I had to run all the way back up Yawkey Way, and then up Brookline Avenue, threading my way through thick crowds all the way to the car and back. The trip must have taken me 15 minutes. Little did I realize just how lucky this inconvenience would turn out to be.
Arriving back at the gate, I was frisked and allowed into the ballpark. Seconds after passing through the turnstile, John nudged me. �Look behind you,� he said.
I turned around. And there was Glen Ordway � along with his co-hosts, Pete Sheppard, Fred Smerlas, Steve Buckley and Larry Johnson. I smiled politely at the other hosts, as they did me, and approached Ordway. �Mr. Ordway? It�s good to meet you, I�ve been a fan of the show for many years,� so went my approach.
We shook hands. I asked for his autograph and handed him my freshly purchased copy of Boston Baseball. �I really admire your style, your wit and sarcasm,� I said, still star-struck.
Ordway laughed a bit and replied, �Well, I suppose I can be sarcastic sometimes, I guess.� How modest! Glenn, you�re a goddamn genius! OK, I didn�t say that, but I truly wanted to. Instead I just sheepishly smiled and bid him thanks and goodbye.
At that stage, it didn�t matter whether the Sox got a win that night or not. I was back at Fenway Park, taking in all its unique sights and sounds. And I met Glenn Ordway, shook his hand, and got his autograph.
I am a happy and contented nightdragon at the moment.
� M.E.M.
|
[Sign My Guestbook]
[View My Guestbook]
|
Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!