I was talking with Jen today about baseball stadiums. It came up as we were watching the Yankees once again get trashed by the Chicago White Sox. I won’t talk about the Yankees. I’m steering clear of reports in regards to my team. So the announcer says that they’re playing at U.S. Cellular Field. Jen looks at me in amazement saying “that is a bad name for an arena but nothing is worse than Enron Field.” While I’d have to agree how bad that is for a stadium name, it isn’t as bad as PETCO Park. That is the field of the San Diego Padres. That’s right. The Padres (either referring to priests or the Spanish word for parents) play at PETCO Park. Their field is named after a chain of pet stores. And to make it even worse their team isn’t even named after an animal. I could see the Tigers, Devil Rays, Cardinals, or Blue Jays playing in that field but the Padres? Its just one in a long line of stadium names that I’ll now spout off as being the worst name stadiums:
Rodgers Field
Bank One Ballpark (BOB)
MinuteMaid Park
Tropicana Field
U.S. Cellular
Ameriquest Field
Busch Stadium (NAMED AFTER A FREAKING BEER)
Staples Center
FEDEX Field
McAfee Coliseum
RCA Dome
Turner Field (Its named after one MAN!)
AT&T Park
Switching subjects, I’ve been increasingly bothered by the state of horror films being produced here in the U.S. Films like Vacancy, Bug, and 1403 seem to have a great premise. It is their enormous production budgets that leave a sour taste in my mouth. The CG gore and under acting by big name actors seem like its more of a quick fix for money than a legitimate try at entertaining audiences. One of the great things about horror films in the United States is that there will never be a point where audiences won’t want to watch. It is the only genre that never seems to die. You don’t need to spend 10 million dollars to come up with a hit. However studios seem to be pumping quite a bit into the special effects teams behind recent films like The Messengers and Dead Silence. Both of which were underwhelming to say the least.
With Hostel 2 fast approaching, I’m wondering what the next phase in horror movie history will be. While I wasn’t a fan of the first Hostel, I am enjoying the marketing behind the second film. The ads are telling audiences that they are garunteed the most shocking ending in horror film history. WHAT A BOLD STATEMENT. I don’t care if it sucks I might be there just to see what it is. That’s what horror films are all about. It’s a hark back to the old days of horror films. I can imagine a man standing outside of a theater screaming to the top of his lungs as throngs of people pass by: Come one and come all. See the most terrifying experience of your lives. Enter if you can but we are not responsible for what becomes of you. CLASSIC STUFF! So I’ll be keeping my eye out on this one.