Tickets are scanned, and fans wander into the ballpark. Suddenly they’re surrounded by familiar senses. The waft of popcorn greets them from concession stands such as Godfather’s Kitchen. The sight of 50/50 raffle booths urges fans to try their luck. The distinct voice of the announcer plays over the speakers. To Akron Rubber Ducks fans, Canal Park is a place of fond memories and guaranteed entertainment.
The Rubber Ducks are often the most overlooked of our local professional sports teams. Even if they aren’t based in Cleveland, where the other major sports teams are, the team deserves to be recognized by Northeast Ohio communities. Just because the Rubber Ducks are in the Minor League instead of the Major League doesn’t mean attending a game will be any less enjoyable.
The team’s slogan is “Affordable. Family. Fun,” which perfectly exemplifies the experience of going to a game. Everyone should experience the joy of attending a Minor League baseball game at least once.
Extreme sports fans would love to go to all their favorite team’s games. Unfortunately, most people can’t afford to spend as much as it costs to buy decent seats and snacks. For the Cleveland Guardians (the team that the Rubber Ducks are Double-A affiliated with), a seat a few rows back from home plate is $90. For Ducks games, this same seat is only $20.
Getting to the park can also affect a fan’s participation. Although Cleveland is only 15 minutes farther from Hudson than Akron, traffic and parking are more difficult in a larger city. The Guardians luckily have a designated parking garage for fans, but the journey to Cleveland is harder to navigate with many fans rushing to the game at once.
Any sports fan knows that food is essential to the game experience. Luckily, Canal Park meets the needs of both picky eaters and connoisseurs.
For those looking for traditional ballpark food, six concession stands are scattered throughout the park. At a stand like The Dog Pound, you can find pizza, pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, hot dogs, nachos and various drinks. These represent their most popular items, but the stands carry more typical American food than just those.
The park also offers many niche foods only found at Canal Park. The most well-known is The Screamer. This monstrosity of a dessert is five pounds and is made of 21 scoops of ice cream, a brownie base, whipped cream, bananas, chocolate syrup, sprinkles and multiple cherries. This can be found at The Sock Hop Ice Cream Shoppe behind Sections 1 and 2. Another extreme food is the Pineapple TeriyAkron Bowl. This dish has a half pineapple hollowed out to contain white rice, grilled chicken, pineapple and Thai chili garlic sauce topped with a teriyaki glaze. This can be found at the Nice 2 Meat U grill, which is a mobile stand that changes locations.
Also unique to the Ducks is their name. While Major League teams have traditional names, Minor League team names are, for the most part, much more exciting and are animal related. Other interesting Minor League names include the Hartford Yard Goats, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Rocket City Trash Pandas. These quirky names give each team its own personality and a better opportunity for fun merchandise ideas.
For each home game, the Rubber Ducks have special themes. On different days of the week, there are promotions specific to the daily theme. There are T-shirt Tuesdays (first 1,000 fans get free t-shirts), Wellness Wednesdays (presents ways to be healthy throughout the game), Thirsty Thursdays (reduced prices on drinks), Firework and Electric Blue Fridays (fireworks are shown after the game and players wear their electric blue jerseys), Giveaway Saturdays (first 1,000 fans receive a premium giveaway) and Family Funday (Sundays where kids under 12 can run the bases after the game).
There are also unique themes that are specific to the exact baseball game date. These themes vary each year, with some being once and done and others renewed for following seasons. Each season there is one of two “Bark in the Park”s in which fans can bring their dogs to the game. Fans can look forward to the “Halfway to Christmas” night on the Saturday closest to June 25 each year that comes with a Christmas-themed giveaway. Last season, the Ducks had a “Cobra Kai” night, which featured Gianni Decenzo, an actor from the show, as the first pitcher and he was available for a meet and greet during the game. New this season is “Conspiracy Night,” which will happen on July 19 and will help “find answers” to well-known popular conspiracy theories.
Let’s not forget the main event! The actual baseball playing is exciting to those who enjoy the sport. Our team is good at what they do and has the scores to prove it. The Akron Rubber Ducks won the Eastern League championship in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2021 and are aiming for another win this season. Some games are more eventful and exciting than others, but Ducks fans still cheer for the team even when they come up short.
Baseball may not be for everyone, but attending a riveting Minor League games is. Whether you’re 3 or 93, fun can be found for every fan and fan-to-be. If the sport isn’t your favorite, there are other exciting things to look forward to, such as the food and free merchandise. The Akron Rubber Ducks will have games from now until September 17, so there should be a game date that works for everyone. To find out more information about the Rubber Ducks, go to https://www.milb.com/akron.
