Sports Fans’ Styles Never Strike Out at Outings : Every Stadium and Ballpark Has Its Distinctive Ambiance

Well, at least the fried chicken was good this year.

That’s some consolation for the traditional picnickers in Aisle 1, Field Level of Dodger Stadium as the sports world enters its busiest time of year: The next few weeks will see baseball playoffs and the World Series, hundreds of football games from professional to Pop Warner, thoroughbreds running and basketball players tuning up in the wings.

The Dodgers didn’t make the playoffs and are finishing their season this weekend. But at the Big A in Anaheim fans are readying bed-sheet signs proclaiming their allegiances (to such Angel stars as Brian Downing, Wally Joyner and Doug DeCinces) for the playoffs with the Red Sox that start Tuesday in Boston and move to Anaheim on Friday night.

Win or lose, it’s always fried chicken in Aisle 1 and bed-sheet banners in the Big A. That’s typical in sports, where every stadium, ballpark and arena seems to have its own distinctive ambiance. And frequently, it is the fans in a particular section of seats that help create that certain style.

Take, for example, the scene at Dodger Stadium during batting practice.

Pregame Dinner

Early arrivals have become accustomed to the pregame (and sometimes continuing) dinner that the behind-the-dugout crowd spreads on the concrete extension of the two dugout roofs.

On a recent night, prior to a game with the Houston Astros, Dr. Larry Paben and his wife, Gladyce , were having dinner, as they have since getting those seats when the stadium opened in 1962.

They had covered the concrete in front of their five season seats with a blue paper tablecloth. Atop it were paper plates and utensils, surrounded by containers of homemade coleslaw and carrot salad, a package of licorice, thermoses of lemonade and hot water (for chocolate and tea), plus hot dogs and fries from the concession stands.

“All the comforts of home,” said the Pabens’ daughter, Sally, as she tuned in a portable radio for the benefit of two other feasting guests, Doris Haisler and Dr. Jackson Barton.

Don Haselkorn, who shares season tickets behind home plate, often observes another slice of stadium life during batting practice:

“The youngsters near the dugouts toss their programs onto the field, and sometimes a player will hand one back with an autograph.”

In football, too, a stadium crowd is often many cities within a city.

The spread may mean one thing to some fans, but to others it means having tailgate parties on the grassy areas outside the Coliseum before the kickoff of a Raiders’ game.

The fare might be hot dogs and beer. Or there are those who arrive in motor homes and trot out grills for barbecuing steaks, to go along with their fine wine, while keeping track of the games already in progress on portable color TV. For some, eating crow comes later.

Film-Type Regulars

Inasmuch as this is movie land, it figures that the regulars inside include film types. Obviously, they sit in the better locations, but are hesitant to have the exact sections disclosed.

“You run into a lot of friends in the business, but mostly the talk is about the game,” said motion picture producer Adam Fields, who was in his customary seat, as were “Top Gun” producer Jerry Bruckheimer and United Artists production vice president Doug Draizen.

“We show up every week because we are all frustrated jocks,” Draizen said, waving to an entertainment executive outside a tunnel during half time.

Stargazers can always look toward the Raiders sidelines, where actor James Garner has permission to prowl.

A specialized neighborhood all its own is in the making at the Coliseum--where the common thread will be affluence:

At the end of this Raider season, according to senior administrator Irv Kaze, construction will begin in time for next season on 100 luxury suites that will take up three tiers along both sidelines (The Big A already has luxury suites).

Each carpeted Coliseum living room-type suite will include 12 seats, two color TV sets, air conditioning and heating, a wet bar, and much more. To nail one down will cost $50,000 a year, on a five-year contract.

“So far we have sold more than 25% of the suites,” Kaze said. “The customers have been large corporations, small companies, individuals from all walks of life, and people who are pooling their money to share one.” Just luxuriate, baby.

Fan spirit and individuality is de rigueur at college football games and, over the years, certain sections become notable for their enthusiastic support of the home team. Those who can’t take the heat, move elsewhere. Take, for example, Sections 1, 2 and 28, in the southeast corner of the Rose Bowl. This is where the Spirit Section holds forth for UCLA football games.

The important thing isn’t how much of the belly hangs over the belt, or how much of the hair is turning gray, for this is the perennial Saturday hangout of the alumni--led by a brokerage firm executive still wearing the cheerleading sweater of his student days.

Started 11 years Ago

“This all started 11 years ago when Jerry Long of the athletic staff, and some others of us were trying to figure out how to fill all those empty seats in the Coliseum, where the Bruins played at the time,” said Geoffrey Strand, vice president with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. here.

What started as a group sales promotion for the less-than-choice seats has grown--especially since the move to Pasadena four years ago--into a united group of at least 10,000 fans, all graduates of the school, spurred by a 100-member alumni band, exhorted by a 38-year-old man in shorts and a cap--wearing the same sweater he did when he was head yell leader in 1971.

“We are outnumbered two-to-one by the student body, but we take pride in having at least as much enthusiasm,” Strand remarked.

Whatever the sport, some fans do their thing with noise, some with writing, such as signs. Although they aren’t allowed at Dodger Stadium, signs have been part of the ambiance at Anaheim Stadium since it opened 20 years ago. More often than not they’re draped in front of fans with appropriate loyalties:

“Brian’s Brigade,” “Wally World,” “Reggie’s Alley,” “DeCinces Is De Best”--bed sheets in bedlam.

Another fixture at the Big A, almost an institution unto themselves, are the octogenarian twins. That’s right, ever since Day 1 at the home of the Halos, LaVerne Uecker of Orange and her sister, LaVere Meyer of Anaheim, both 81-year-old widows, have been part of the season-ticket scenery behind first base.

Little did either one know when they came to the county from Nebraska in 1917 that the orange groves would one day give way to a stadium and that they would attend each and every game.

“It’s the highlight of my life now,” LaVerne said.

More Mature Bettors

Meanwhile, other senior citizens may be found at Santa Anita race track, which opened its Oak Tree meeting Wednesday . The seats at the far turn, far away from the high rollers in the clubhouse and the society set in the Turf Club, are a favorite of the more mature bettors.

The air is fresh, that part of the stands is serene, and it seems to make little difference that the horse, which was bet at 10 to 1, finished at quarter past two.

One group increasingly in evidence everywhere with a common bond is the non-smoker, and sporting palaces, even the outdoor type, are accommodating them.

Indoors, at such places as Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, the San Diego Sports Arena, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, smoking is prohibited in the seating area. One of the first major outdoor sports facility to group non-smokers was Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, where the Padres began offering such seats back in 1979.

“We have about 400 seats behind first base and about 300 behind third base,” said senior vice president Elten Schiller. “Signs are posted, and if somebody lights up, an usher stops by.”

Familiar Faces

Soon to begin is the Lakers’ season at the Forum, and familiar faces will once again be seen “on the wood,” those choice $150-seats directly on the floor.

Jack Nicholson, Walter Matthau, John McEnroe, Tatum O’Neal, Al Davis--all will be in their places with sunshiny faces.

The personality of any stadium or arena, of course, includes the year-after-year individuals:

--At the home games of the Kings hockey team, one devoted fan is invariably accompanied by his wife, obviously there more to keep him company than to watch the game, inasmuch as she passes the time knitting.

--At Anaheim Stadium, seated behind the on-deck circle of the Halos, is a fan known as Charlie Angel, a grandfatherly gent who--for as long as anyone can remember--makes his departure before the final out, but not before shaking hands with friend and stranger alike as he wends his way to the exit.

If you can’t play a sport, then be one.