Baseball is boring to watch on TV. Let's just get it out there now. I have fallen asleep to many a baseball game on the couch. The constant back and forth of pitch and catch just does not seem exciting, especially in April and May when the season is still very young and 162 games seems like a very long time. However, one of my favorite things to do in the summer is to actually GO to baseball games. Yes, it's not nearly as cheap as it used to be, but a day at the ballyard is still one of the more affordable evenings out you can do (if you are careful with how you spend your money). Today I attended my first ballgame of the year, a 5-0 Orioles win over the Texas Rangers (the Rangers' first loss of the season), and tomorrow I will be back at Oriole Park to see them again.
I always enjoy going to the ballpark to see a game. My favorite seat is the upper deck right behind home plate (where I was sitting today actually). Take a look at this view.
You can't beat that. You can see the whole field without turning your head, and you essentially get the same view as the home plate umpire calling balls and strikes. The stands are pretty empty, but this was the first game of a twi-nite double header (the game on Friday night was rained out). By the time the game ended, the stands had actually filled up pretty nicely as all the people attending the nightcap (the regularly scheduled game) started to arrive.
Some of the most enjoyable aspects of going to a game are the things you don't get to see on TV. For starters, you have the dancing beer vendors. When business is slow, they'll try anything to get anyone to buy a bottle of something, including dancing in the stands. My favorite beverage vendor was one guy at an Oriole game a few year ago that started the entire section in a chant of "ICE COLD ICY ICE! ICE COLD LEMON CHILL!" Then you have the peanut guys and all of their tricks throwing the bags of peanuts.
Something else that you don't really get to see on TV are the battles in the stands for foul balls. Sure, the camera will occasionally follow a foul ball to its landing, but it is always funny to watch fans fight over a free souvenir. The looks on people's faces after dropping a ball are priceless (especially those in the upper deck as they watch their prize fall to the lower bowl below...and the ensuing scrum that follows). I once had a shot at a foul ball. I was in the very seat you see in the picture. I pop fly hit the bottom of the railing and popped straight in the air. It was going to land in my lap. Of course, I stick my hands up, it bounced off my palm and onto the staircase behind me. Before I even had a chance to react, somebody from 4 rows behind snatched it up and kept it. I carry that scar with me to this day...
What really makes baseball America's pastime is the gameday experience. Mascot races, scoreboard games, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and of course the 7th inning stretch are things that really are unique to baseball and keep you coming back. You see little kids in their ballcaps carrying gloves as big as their heads grinning from ear to ear. They could care less about politics and performance enhancing drugs. They are just there to see their favorite players play the game they love. That's what baseball is really all about and what sets it apart from other sports. A football game's experience is really more in the parking lot than in the stadium itself. Basketball, hockey, and football are games that should be seen on TV (although I will be the first to tell you that a hockey game in person is PHENOMENAL). However, nothing beats a bright sunny day at the ballpark with some Boog's BBQ, a bag of peanuts, and (of course) a cold one.
No comments:
Post a Comment