Flickr photo by Iscan
I should admit up front that I'm not really a baseball lover.
Maybe I should have titled this post All the Reasons I Love Baseball Even Though I'd Rather Sweep Up Dog Hair Than Watch the Game (Unless My Kids Are Playing.)
No, I think that's a little long.
So we went to see our hometown minor league team, The Greenville Drive, on Friday night.
Don't worry. I'm not going to try to tell you much about the game itself, except to say that we played the Asheville Tourists (who have a much better team name than we do) and we skunked them. That's Sam talk for saying we beat them by a large margin. I didn't really notice the score.
Allow me to share all the non-baseball things I LOVE about going to games.
1. The trolley ride!
Woo hoo! I know I sound like a country mouse, but it's not like I live in San Francisco and get to ride a trolley every day. This trolley takes you from the parking lot to the stadium. And that lovely boy with the sunglasses is a boy I'd be happy to adopt if his parents ever would let me. He's a friend of Sarah's and the rest of us as well. Hi Justin!
2. Polite baseball players on display who seem delighted that someone wants their autographs.
3. Baseball park food!
Flickr photo by gardenwife
Yum. I ate up my hot dog so fast that I didn't even think to take a picture of it, so I'm showing you gardenwife's hot dog. From the looks of the stadium, she probably paid more than $7 for her ticket to the game. As you can see below, the seats at Fluor Field are quite a bit closer to the action.
This pic reminds me of another thing I love about Greenville Drive games.
The free tee shirts they throw out to the crowds? No...
4. Reedy Rip'it!
Isn't he cute? And I heard that ever since he had that run in with police a few years ago, he's much better behaved.
Just pull out a camera and he'll ham it up with just about anyone!
4. The Kiss Cam!
Flickr photo by glowbird
Maybe it's France's fault for teaching me to love the kiss, but I'm just crazy about this custom. If they point the camera at you and your sweetie--or friend or date or stranger--you're supposed to kiss while everyone watches. It's hilarious and sweet and I just love it.
You may have noticed that that pic is a flickr photo too. I was too busy doing hopeful puckering to take a photo.
5. The field itself.
Oh yeah, that's right. There was a ballgame going on out there too. But even if there wasn't, it's a fine place to spend a Friday night. I mean look at it. It's lovely.
You can see that it's not a very big stadium. Fluor Field is modeled after Fenway Park, since our team is affiliated with the Boston Red Sox.
See, let me show you the rest of it.
Sam sits with us for part of the time, and runs back and forth to the lawn, hoping to catch a foul ball.
5. Shoeless Joe Jackson's house was moved across the street from the stadium and serves as a museum. Joe was a Greenville boy, getting his start on one of the textile teams in town.
Flickr photo by dbelcher5761
Plenty of folks wanted to name the team after him, calling it the The Greenville Joes, but they took a vote and The Drive won.
I like the Joes better, personally. But I shouldn't really get to vote, since I only go to the games to watch the racing banana.
6. The Vegetable/Fruit Races!
I'm not sure what the deal is about the racing fruit/veggie, but I do know that the banana won and was kind of obnoxious about it. I thought that the broccoli and peach handled the loss pretty well, much better than the manager of the Asheville Tourists, who got thrown out of the game for kicking dirt on the umpire.
Such drama. You just don't find that in the vegetable/fruit world.
6. Fireworks!
What a great way to end a nice evening!
So tell me, do you ever catch a game on the weekends? What parts do you like best? What's your favorite ballpark snack? Boiled peanuts, anyone?
Have a wonder-full Monday, y'all!
Love, Becky
11 comments:
We went to our local game one night... oh... years ago. The performer for the day put on a bike helmet, climbed into a rather small box and then she blew up said box. Her name? Dynamite Lady. Heh.
My favorite - I coached high school & college kids for years. Deb always kept the score book for me (not in the dugout). When a batter came up to the plate - I could look over & she would signal where the kid hit the ball on a previous at bat & what kind of pitch he hit. I'd adjust the defensive positioning & call the pitch accordingly. Most of my former players stay in touch - way cool. Haven't seen any minor league games but Spring Training & College games are great.
Not my favorite sport
however, I did enjoy going to my son’s games
and watching the kids.
We always go to a spring training game when we go to Florida.
The game itself is boring but I love watching the fans.
I am a people watcher…
Louise
What fun! We always hit a major league park if we're on a trip--that was a great vicarious tour with you;)
I've tagged you, Becky, and I think it's one you'll enjoy.
That is very cute. I would think that I would have a lot of fun at a hometown game with you, Becky! I think I'd only go to watch the fruit and veggie races, too! LOL!
Go broccoli!!!
I'm all about the boiled peanuts! It's so hard to find them anywhere else but in the south. I missed them so bad when I went away to college. I have a cousin who was so desperate for boiled peanuts one time and couldn't find any (even raw ones) that she boiled roasted peanuts to try and make it work. It didn't. Sad, eh?
I love the music at the games. The crack of the bat. The excitement in the crowd. I like to watch the game though too. I didn't used to, but with a husband who loves baseball, I've learned there's so much more to it than what I used to think.
Trolley ride to the game?? How cool!
My dad's office used to be about a half mile from our major league team stadium. He went to every single game (he was a former minor league player himself). I have many good memories of attending games with him as a kid. I never really did like the game itself, but everything else was great fun!
Awww....I TOTALLY forgot about cracker jacks! I LOVED those as a kid. Yummmy! =) It has been awhile since I have been to a ballgame. =/
What a cute post! I'm glad to know the peach and the broccoli are good sports.
I recently took my 8 year old to his first minor league game. Our team is the New Britain Rock Cats - an affiliate of the Twins. We had a great time. Like you said, we were much closer to the action. My son even got to participate in one of the between inning contests they have on the field. He loved it.
I don't even like watching sports but I love going to baseball games. I love the food. I love being outdoors. I love when everyone stands up and sings, Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks...
You should come to SF and we'll ride a cable car together. You'd LOVE it.
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