Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Red Sox Fans Riding the Rails

I know I owe my lovely reading public (the whopping 3 of you) a full post on Disney World (fabulous) and what we've been up to this month (lots), but that will require more time and effort than I have at the moment.

So what I will address is a topic near and dear to my heart - riding the Green Line when the Red Sox are at home. Hopefully some wayward fan will find this post useful as they prepare for what will surely be an interesting adventure.

Red Sox Nation, please keep in mind that the Green Line doesn't run well, even on it's best days. It's usually crowded and hot, and there's too long of a delay between trains. So when thousands of you show up for your few stops of fun, it just gets worse. Thankfully, the Kenmore station is the last one before the B, C, and D trains go their separate ways, and the rest of us can continue our commute in peace.

By the way, you can walk to Fenway from the E line's stops like Symphony or even Museum of Fine Arts, should you totally screw up and get on the wrong train.

And yes, the Kenmore station is the stop you want to use. Don't waste time waiting for the D line only, thinking the Fenway stop is closer/correct. When the train arrives at Kenmore, the conductors will be expecting a mass exodus and will wait for everyone to get off. No need to try to leave your seat before getting to the stop, as trust me, there will be no place for you to go. Note as well that the train usually makes a few pauses between Hynes and Kenmore, and that doesn't mean we've arrived at the station. Stay in your seat. But you should be advised that outbound C and D trains will have exits on the left side of the train. That means if you're standing next to the conductor, you're going to have a great time pushing past the remaining commuters to get to the exit. Don't worry, we've seen you and your buddies do this before, and we'll see it happen again.

Along the way, you'll find many new friends among the crowd who share your similar love of the Red Sox. You'll want to loudly discuss your plans for the evening, and even better, complain bitterly about the T experience. Try to refrain from doing so, and remember that there are many other people who do this everyday, who will not be going to the game, and find your additional participation to be the true burden.

I hope I've helped you understand a bit more about riding the T. You WILL make it to the game - there is no need to panic, push, or regale me with stories of how much worse the T is than when you used to ride it (you know, when they still used tokens), since you clearly have no idea what you're doing now. So store some value on your Charlie Card, and we'll somehow get through the amateur hour that is April-October evening commutes on the Green Line.