The View from the Cheap Seats

After skipping Saturday's game to attend a wedding, on Sunday I"ve done something I haven't done in more than a few years. I actually attended a game as a plain old fan. And my wife came too, something else that doesn't happen very often. My wife wanted to go to see a friend of hers throw out a first pitch, and I was not on the work schedule for Sunday, so we loaded up in the Bug (my '73 VW Super Beetle) and headed for the ballpark. It was a gorgeous day for baseball and the boys were riding a 5, count 'em, 5-game winning streak. That's a season high, folks. Were we starting to peek around the corner? Maybe. Even if they lost today, it would still be a pretty good home stand by anybodies standards. We made our way into the park and staked out a spot to watch the first pitch. After they were done, we went over to visit with the boys in the cubby for a few minutes and then headed out to the boardwalk to sample the venues. Since all of the bar stools were occupied, we made our way over to center field and took a spot at the rail by the flagpoles. The view from there is a commanding one. The field looked picture perfect. Even though I know where all the problems and imperfections are, from being up close and personal most nights, I couldn't see any of them. Kudos to Knute, Tim, and the rest of the guys. After hanging there for a few innings, we made our way over to the seats above the left field wall. We found a few and sat for a while, enjoying another great view. Those seats, unfortunately, on a day like today were way too warm for us. The green plastic of the seats absorbed the heat, and they actually got hotter than the aluminum railings. We then moved over to the deck in the left field corner and took a spot along the rail. The view there was also good and the breeze was very refreshing. After that we headed to the Spot stand for a little snack. My wife and I both had one of my favorites, a Grounder. We headed back to the boardwalk to find a place to sit and eat, while we watched the game. I found the surroundings there both delightful and appalling. It was delightful to sit at a picnic table in the shade from the hot sun, with a great view of the game, and eat. The people around me, at times, left a lot to be desired. Please don't get me wrong, I love kids. I have 2 of my own (now grown). I have a slew of nieces and nephews, from toddlers on up. And I understand kids can get rowdy and want to have fun. But for parents to let their kids run absolutely wild is unacceptable. I never let my kids do it, and I can't accept from others either. I cast a shadow on what was, otherwise a very nice afternoon. Maybe I'll suggest to the higher-ups to have some tighter control out there. I think there is a potential to alienate a lot of fans. OK, I'm stepping down off my soapbox now. The game got a little out of hand through the later innings, with New Britain seemingly hitting everything they saw. The Sens managed to get a few back but not quite enough to break through. It was an 11-7 final. We spent the last inning and a half back in the cubby, chatting with the guys. and after the last out, headed to the car. It felt good to just be a fan for a day. maybe I'll do it again someday. In a couple of years. We're out for 7 days, so until next week, later.