It won’t be the same
The renovations will make it look like a flying saucer has landed on Soldier Field (“The new mistake by the lake,” Dec. 30). I think they could have done things differently but were in a hurry and let Mayor Daley push it through to get it approved. It won’t be the same without the colonnades in the background.
Joe, 39, Huntley
Disrespectful design
You know, I’ve been trying to convince myself that the new Soldier Field won’t look too bad, simply because I know we’re stuck with it for the long haul, anyway. So, I’ve countered the negative thought that the inner bowl will dwarf the statuesque columns with the positive thought that people will be able to walk among the columns.
But as I was sitting in traffic the other day on Lake Shore Drive, I had my first long look at the stadium as it looks so far. I realized that what is so offensive about the new design is the fact that the original design (now the shell of the stadium) has not been taken into account.
They needed to incorporate more stone in the facade in order to mesh with and show respect to the original design, which was in turn showing respect to our soldiers, sailors and Marines.
John
Just say no to Ryno
There is NO WAY that Ryne Sandberg deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. First of all, this is the Hall of Fame of all of baseball, not the Hall of Fame of Second Basemen. The fact that he was one of the few second basemen in baseball history that hit more than a handful of home runs doesn’t mean squat. Stacked up against other Hall-of-Famers (and many others who have NOT been inducted), Sandberg’s statistics are thoroughly unimpressive.
Many people will argue that Sandberg was a great fielder. But anyone who saw him play knows that he rarely, if ever, fielded a ball that was not easily within his range. He made the routine play consistently, but rarely made the spectacular play.
If Sandberg ever deserved an award, it would be for Baseball’s Cleanest Uniform. So give him THAT award, but NOT the Hall of Fame. Or at least make him wait a long time like Nellie Fox had to. Nellie played the game the way it was supposed to be played; his uniform was dirty by the end of the first inning. He made defensive plays at second base that Ryno wouldn’t DREAM of making. And he had to wait more than 25 years to get in.
Mark Petterson
Former smoker wants to go out again
I am a former smoker. I think the restaurant industry needs to know how many customers have stopped going out to eat and or have a drink because of smoke. Most of the time I only go to restaurants where I know I will not get even one whiff of the foul stuff. So that means I do not go out to a restaurant very often. But I definitely never go to a bar to have a drink anymore. And I would like to do that again–without the smoke.
Cherie
Good riddance to non-smokers
My response to all those people who say they would frequent bars more often if they didn’t have to deal with smoke at bars is: STAY HOME, WE DON’T WANT YOU ANYWAY.
I am a non-smoker. The people who have been staying in because of the bar smoke are boring. Trust me when I say this: No one has missed them up until this point, and no one will miss them in the future.
Bars are counting on the revenue that is brought in from the people who stay long and drink long. So do the bars a favor–stay home and rent a movie from Blockbuster. I hear that they have great deals on DVDs!
Tomasz Milewski
Smokers can adapt
As a 33-year-old father of four, I am in total support of a complete smoking ban indoors in restaurants and bars. Cigarette smoke is the main reason I don’t take my family to restaurants as often as I’d like to. In my case, it would increase my patronage of restaurants.
I have also lived in Los Angeles after it imposed the indoor smoking ban and rarely saw an empty restaurant or noticed patrons being disturbed by having to step outside to a “smoking garden” for their after-dinner cigarette.
Fernando Garza
CORRECTION
In Hot Spot on Page 10 of RedEye Jan. 3, a photo of Sen. Rick Santorum was misidentified as Sen. Bill Frist.
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