Interview with Andy Buchanan

ictured to the left with his brother John, together the brothers put together the Wise Guide series. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the books.

PC:  What inspired you to start Wise Guide Books?

A:  My brother John and I are big Cubs fans and attend games at Wrigley Field all the time, and the idea for the guides literally came while sitting there watching a game and drinking beers. We just thought we have a lot of knowledge about the experience and love the experience so much – the sights and sounds and tastes and traditions and history – why not try to share that with folks.

PC:  On your site there are Wise Guide Books to several different stadiums.  Was there a particular favorite of yours to write?  What are your favorite sports teams?

A:  Well, I’m a Chicago guy so I’m Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and I spent part of my youth in Columbus, Ohio, so I’m partial to Ohio State. As for the books, I guess I’d say it was a particular thrill to do the Fenway Park book because it, like Wrigley, is such a historic place. And I’d never been there before starting to research the book, so that was a great experience to go there and watch games. And also the setting is similar to Wrigley in that the park is located right in the city and there are taverns and sports bars right across the street.

PC:  How did you go about researching for these books?  Did you have any funny, poignant, or otherwise interesting stories from your time researching that you’d care to share?

A:  We do a lot of research on-line about the stadiums and ballparks, read books, and then obviously go to games there with notebook in hand ready to eat and drink and talk to fans and take it all in. We also hire local freelancers to help us with the research and writing, and ensure we don’t miss important stuff.

One of my favorite experiences was getting to interview one of the men who works inside the Wrigley Field scoreboard. He told me funny stories about the behavior he’d witnessed out in the bleachers over the years, and the time it was a brutally cold day and he lit a sterno can to keep warm and accidentally set his pants on fire. He also said that although he was a South Sider he was a huge Cubs fan, and that one of his duties is to go on top of the scoreboard after the game and raise the W or L flag, depending what happens that day. He told me if the Cubs lose and he sees an El train coming, “I’ll wait till it passes before I raise that L flag.” I love that quote.

PC:  What’s next for Wise Guide Books?  Do you have any new books out that aren’t yet on your website (we’re Wolverine fans–possibly one for the Big House)?

A:  Actually, we’ve been focusing a lot lately on building out our Web site and trying to figure out how to make the books a more multi-media experience. We’ve shot some video to go with the Wrigley guide and just came out with an iPhone app for the park. We’re coming out with apps on Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park shortly, too. As for the Big House, we’re Ohio State fans so that’s not going to happen… kidding. We’d love to do Michigan, and we will if people buy more of the books we have out now.

PC:  Thanks, Andy!