The only thing better than going to a live baseball game is having your team win. Sadly, the Astros didn’t provide that, but there was some top-notch play in the game tonight regardless. I love the action, I love the crowd…made new friends at the ballpark tonight. I’m probably the only person in the crowd who cheers for the umpires.
And I loves me a giant death dog. There’s just something about one of those huge-ass ballpark hot dogs, loaded to the max with trimmings, that makes my eyes rotate in joy. And let’s not forget chasing it with peanuts and a massive order of fajita nachos.
Same boat as you. My son and I went to and Indians game Friday night, and of course, they lost. (They seem bent on setting a new record for absolute futility this year.)
Nevertheless, despite the outcome, it was a great time. I love everything about the experience, and just plain love the game, period. In fact, I’m a real anomaly in this football-crazed part of the country in that I don’t give a shit about it or ANY other sport. But my love of baseball knows no bounds.
Of course it’s more fun to watch when your team wins, but even when it doesn’t, there’s joy to be taken in the simple rituals and rhythm of the game.
And it’s funny you mentioned hot dogs. I was astounded Friday night to see something I haven’t seen in years…vendors going around in the stands with two-compartment metal bins…one side with dogs in steaming water, the other side with warm buns.
This was a great part of the games of my youth, but they discontinued the practice many years ago, and the only hot dogs you were able to buy were at concession stands, pre-made and wrapped in foil. They went cold before the second bite.
The experience of at last eating a dog that stayed warm all the way through was a welcome return. The vendor told me they just started doing this again this year. Hooray!
Yes sir, going to a baseball game is about as close to perfect entertainment as I can experience. Majors; minors; even my 7 year old’s terrible little league games. I love football; enjoy an occasional NBA game; even had a great time at my first NASCAR race last night. Nothing compares to a baseball game.
I agree that as far as a “going to the game” experience goes, nothing beats baseball. The pacing, the sounds, smells, family-friendly atmosphere…its awesome. Not to mention the cost. Here in the Cincinnati area, Reds upper deck tickets are only $8.
I like the NFL a lot more than any other sport, and I love going to NFL games, but I actually prefer watching the games on TV. And I would never take my children to an NFL game, at least not until they were teenagers. They don’t need to hear Daddy and 59,999 of his closest friends yelling words like that!
Our semi-local Single A team has great deals. We’ll see more Quakes games in person this season than we will Dodgers and Padres games combined.
Nothing beats a Dodger Dog (with mustard, relish and onions), but the brats and andouille served at the Epicenter come close. Cheap beer, seats close enough to make the ump flinch, custom seat service for the food…what’s not to love?
So true. I’d much rather attend a Little League game than an NFL game.
I wrote about it elsewhere, but Sunday I brought my little girl to the Jays game. It was quite honestly the best day I could imagine having. Sunshine, baseball, a laughing little girl. We got her face up on the Jumbotron and she gave Ace the mascot a high five. We ate candy and drank Coke and ate peanuts and she had a Slurpie and sat on my lap and cheered on our boys, who obligingly won.
I have never been able to get into the game on tv. I just can’t. It’s interminable. Most of it is just that one shot from behind the pitcher toward the batter and catcher. Give me football on the tube over that, any day of the week.
But at the stadium? I can’t think of a better game than baseball. Weird difference, but there it is.
Baseball on the radio is better than baseball on TV, especially if you have quality announcers calling the game. Fortunately for me, I’ve been blessed with the likes of Marty Brennaman, Joe Nuxhall (RIP) and now Jeff “The Cowboy” Brantley.
I’m taking my dad to a game for Father’s Day this year. Who cares if we’re 64 and 36 respectively? We’re still going to have a great time and I’m looking forward to it.
Agreed. The Indians have Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan, who I would put up against any other broadcast team in either league in terms of knowledge and just plain enthusiasm for the game.
If I watch an Indians game on TV, I turn down the TV sound and turn up the radio (and hope they’re in sync!). If I can’t watch on TV, I still find it a pleasurable experience to just listen on radio. Hamilton has been at it since the early 90s, and he’s the best there is.
It’s fortunate they’re so good, given how awful the team has been lately!
We’re going to the Ranger’s game (versus Tampa Bay) Friday night for our 17th wedding anniversary. I can’t wait. And considering I got married on a softball diamond, I’d definitely say that baseball is something I love too.
Hey, you can’t blame an Indians fan for holding the triumphs of the latter half of the 1990s in recent memory!
Particularly when the gap between them and the last really good Tribe team was nearly 40 years.
…and if you’re really “suffering” right now, wanna trade places with us?
Amen to that! A major-league game is fun and all, but there’s absolutely nothing that compares to a minor-league game. Dizzy bat races between the innings, shaking hands with the players, local businesses giving out coupons, just the whole atmosphere and feel of community can’t be beat.
TV, radio, live–it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve been a fan of the game since my dad took me to my first Yankees game, and nothing beats baseball. I try to get to as many games as I can. I go to several Las Vegas 51s games a season, and love seeing players I saw here make it to the majors (much as I hate the Dodgers). Loney, Kemp and Martin all played here in the last several years and all deserve the stardom they have achieved. Now we’re the AAA affiliate of the Blue Jays (my wife’s favorite team), so we’ll see who makes it from here.
As far as MLB, I try to schedule vacations around my favorite teams playing in the West. I’ll be going to see the Yankees play the D-Backs in a couple of weeks at Chase. I went there for the first time last year to see the Mets play. It was my first indoor ballgame, and I wasn’t sure how I’d react to that. It turns out that it is an absolutely gorgeous stadium, and it’s so huge that I didn’t even notice the indoor aspect that much. And, I’ll tell ya, much as I love the fresh air and sunshine aspect of the game, it sure beat sitting in the 110 degree Phoenix heat. Best concessions in the bigs as well, and reasonably priced tickets.
