Behold, the mighty tickets and the
special parking pass! No long
walks for me!**
We arrived around 6:10, as I hate to be late. It's much better to be early. Besides, it was a Thirsty Thursday, so they had cheap beer. Having never been to a baseball game, I thought that might make it more crowded. I didn't do any heavy drinking, but Mark did have a couple beers.
Pictured: a lightweight.
I opted for a souvenier cup filled with Sprite
and fruit punch. I'm so daring.
Getting there early seemed to be a good choice. We hadn't eaten yet, so we tried to find a food booth with a short wait. There were some long lines to be had because apparently, lots of people wanted cheap beer. We didn't wait in those lines. Instead, we found a place near the entrance that was kind of a grill.***
Minimal selection, basic food.
After ordering, they gave us a little number. We finally found a seat and began to wait. It took quite a while, and we think they originally gave our food to someone else. It wasn't a big deal, as we were entertained. There were guys doing warm-up stuff on the field, and there were different clips playing on the big screen.**** It was weird when they started showing actual commercials. I always thought the ads were just the ones around the field. Turns out I was wrong. I learned a lot.
I was annoyed with the netting at first, but I
appreciated it later!
After splitting some food, we decided to go find out seats. I like having assigned seats at something like this. Since I don't know what seats are good, it's easy when I just have to find a number and park myself. We were behind some nets near the pitcher, which Mark told me are good seats. We were on an end, which I appreciated, as I hate making others get up when I want to wander away.
Now that we knew where the seats were, we decided to check out the shop. The game hadn't started, and we had a little bit of time to kill. This was a good decision, as Mark got to meet Deuce.***** On a side note, the shop had the usual stuff. It was a good selection though, if you wanted Pelicans gear.
Doggy Kisses!
At this point, it was almost time for the game to start. We wandered back to our seats. A nice gentleman actually wiped them off for us. I'm not sure if it was because we were in the passholder section or what, but it was very nice of him. It was also weird.
Pictured: baseball!
Now, I expected the game to be really boring, but as I started picking up on what was going on, it became much more interesting. All the things I learned in high school gym class started coming back to me.****** I actually enjoyed watching the game. It doesn't hurt that they add stuff every inning to keep everyone entertained. I really enjoyed the t-shirt cannon, not that we were sitting where we could catch anything. It was just neat to see them shoot shirts at people.
The netting that kept us from catching t-shirts also kept us from getting hit by baseballs. After I realized just how fast those little suckers are going, I was very thankful for that net. When the balls would land in the stadium, it was like Finding Nemo. All those people going "Mine. Mine. Mine." It was really funny, and I'll bet it is fun for them to try and catch the ball.
There were other distractions during the game, such as the sumo match. They put a couple of people in those ridiculous sumo suits to do battle. There was a competition to eat candy off your forehead without moving your head. In my notes, I have something about a skank dance. I no longer remember what that was, but I'm sure it was skanky. We also clapped a lot. Luckily, the songs and patterns were easy to catch on to. Rhythmic clapping is fun!
More than halfway through the game, I got hungry. I had just had some of Mark's food earlier, so I wanted to go get something else. Since we had discovered additional food places when we went looking for the gift shop, I wanted to go try something else. Mark wanted ice cream, even though he had already had cotton candy.*******
Don't worry. He got his ice cream, and
I got a frozen drink.
We chose a window and ordered me some food. We had gotten Mark's ice cream at another bay. I had to sit and wait for a moment before my food was ready. I got the only thing that made sense to me at a baseball game, not counting Cracker Jacks.
There is a joke to be made here, but
this is a classy review site.
My hot dog was pretty good, and the fries were nice and hot. It was at this point that I decided visiting the baseball game was just an excuse to eat food that is terrible for you. They had so many choices!
Totally got to third base!
After filling up, we went back to watch the rest of the game. We missed a little over an inning, but it seemed that no matter where you were, you could keep up with what was going on. It was really nice.
The dog runs the bases!
By 9:30, the game was over; the fun, however, was not. There were still fireworks to be set off. They also let all the little kids go out on the field and run the bases. It was neat, something I'm sure those kids thought was amazing.
Boom!
We were some of the last people to leave. We just enjoyed watching all the goings on. It was a really fun night, and I do believe that I'll go to another game in the future, especially if I can get the tickets through work again. The seats were great. The only thing that could have improved my experience would have been to have my baseball loving friend with me. He could have explained some of the finer points.*******
Like I said, some of the last people to leave.
*Within reason. Don't be that way.
**Because my employer is a patron, I got the tickets for free, and I got to park with the passholders.
***At the time, we didn't realize just how many places there were at the ballpark to get food. We just went towards the first short line we saw.
****If there is an official name for it, I'm sorry. As long as you realize what I'm talking about, we'll be okay.
*****This was the moment that I decided I wanted to get Mark a dog for Christmas. He just got so excited about seeing this dog. When the dog licked his face, you would have thought he had won the lottery. It was absolutely adorable.
******Also, Meatloaf taught me a lot about baseball.
*******Just like in the movies, they have people that walk around and sell you stuff. A man came by with a long stick covered in bags of cotton candy. There was someone with fruity type alcoholic drinks and another man with cans of beer. I don't recall anyone selling peanuts though.
*******Miss you, Rick.
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