Another Day at the Ballpark

We got to Rosenblatt Stadium about 4:45 pm for a 6 pm game, to find the earlier game was still in progress. The game between Cal State Fullerton & UC Irvine went 13 innings (5+ hrs) setting a record for the longest CWS game ever. And I had GIVEN my tickets to the nephew of a friend who left in the 5th inning. Who does that? Even Dodger fans stay until the 7th!

Since we had time to kill, we wandered around the Fan Fest area, shopped (I bought another ASU t-shirt) and went over to Zesto's to eat. The two lines were each about 30 people long when we got there. By the time we got our food (GREAT burgers & fries!), they were twice that long. Which meant that standing in line to get ice cream was out of the question.

And finally, a baseball game. ASU's loss to Oregon State was ugly and painful. The final score was 12-6, but it wasn't anywhere near that close. I quit keeping score around the 4th inning, when I got tired of coloring in little boxes on the OSU side of the score sheet. The high point of the game was the blow-up doll that fell into the field from the right field bleachers. Pathetic, but the Sun Devils gave us very little to cheer about tonight. The security guys who confiscated her set her up on the bench beside them. They usually get booed for taking the beach balls, but the crowd gave them a round of applause this time. And by the time we left Rosenblatt around 11 pm, I wasn't too unhappy that I missed that LONG first game!

The Greatest Show On Dirt

What a slogan! What a day at Rosenblatt! What made it such a good day? Since I like to make lists.....

1.On a HOT HOT day, we watched the Arizona State Sun Devils beat the UC Irvine Anteaters by a single run.

2. The frozen lemonade was incredibly and wonderfully cold. (Did I mention it was HOT?)
3. Eavesdropping on the conversation in the row behind me, I met a quilter who had come from Grand Island for the game. She & her husband were rooting for ASU because their son lives in Scottsdale, AZ. As the innings passed. I gave her directions to two local quilt shops, we talked about sewing machines, I invited her to Quilt Nebraska, and I showed her my quilting tattoo. We talked about the differences in humidity between Omaha and Grand Island, and the dry heat of Phoenix.
4. During the 7th inning stretch, we sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Then we got to watch a young man get down on one knee, offer a diamond ring to his girlfriend, and cheer excitedly when she said yes.
5. I bought a new ASU shirt to wear on Monday, when the Sun Devils play again.
6. Since ASU was designated the home team for this game, my seats were right in the middle of a huge crowd of ASU fans from all over. It was lots of fun to share the thrill of victory!
7. My favorite vendor visited our section. He talks non-stop, offering to shut up & go away for just $3. AND, he throws in a free cherry sno-cone! Lots of takers - did I mention it was HOT?
8. The wave went around the stadium 4 times before falling victim to action on the field.

The View From Third Base

Baseball! Almost like Opening Day, without the stress of wanting my team to win! We saw the NC Tarheels come from behind to beat the Mississippi Bulldogs. I cheered for both teams, leaving the NC fan sitting beside me scratching his head.

I love my seat location. My seat looks straight down the basepath from 3rd base to 2nd. The sun is always behind us. I don't like the new seats in Rosenblatt. The seat portion is not as deep, making them less comfortable. The new lack of depth is supposed to make up for the seat portion not folding up, but what is does is make the "may I get past you dance" even more awkward.

I'm leaving for Rosenblatt Stadium in a little while to see Arizona State (go Sun Devils!) play UC. I've got my Sparky tattoo on my cheek and am still sporting my "Born to Quilt" tattoo on my forearm. Not exactly Biker Babe stuff, but they work for me!

More Thoughts From the Ballgame

Championship Game 1 of the College World Series. It was a good game, but what I enjoyed more than the baseball was the rain delay. We sat dry under our rain ponchos (ponchoes?), watching the tarp get pulled out, laughing as the slow exodus to the exits turned frantic when the rain changed from a light sprinkle to a cold downpour.



Best of all was the rainbow that formed to the east of the stadium. It started as part of an arc and grew until it formed a complete semicircular stripe of color.



A 2nd rainbow seemed to be a reflection of the first. I've never seen the colors mirror-imaged like they were on these two.



Best Shout From the Stands: Still the trading of insults between the right field and left field bleachers - "Left/Right Field Sucks!"

Best T-shirt: You can't fix stupid.

And the Wave - that unique American institution which unites everyone at the ballpark, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, or team affliation, into a single organism enjoying the moment. Carpe Diem!

Random Thoughts from the College World Series

After 10 years on the waiting list, I was able to buy season tickets this year! Great location on the 3rd base side, so the sun never shines directly into our faces. The CWS started last Friday (Happy Birthday Kyra!) and the two-game-per-day pace is catching up with me. I don't feel much of an allegiance to any of the teams playing, so I can just enjoy good baseball.

Best T-shirt seen so far: "Don't Run Over the Parking Lot Guy"
Best name: Yonder Alonso of the Miami Hurricanes.
Shortest Rain Delay: 4 minutes. The rain started hard, the tarp was rolled onto the field, the rain stopped. Tarp unfolding halted, meetings were held. Tarp rolled off the field, game restarted.
Worst Almost-No-Hitter: Rice pitcher Eddie Degerman had a no-hitter going into the 7th inning vs Georgia. His 8 walks (including walking the bases loaded early in the game) overshadowed the no-hit bid.
Most Annoying Traffic Control: Traffic control which doesn't allow right turns off the 13th Street exit, which meant that even though I had less than a 100 yard drive to my permit parking area, I was forced to drive a looping path through the neighborhoods for 20 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Someone has an inane theory that slow-moving traffic is better than getting a vehicle off the street & parked. I'm guessing this traffic pattern designer owns a gas station or two. Same guy must be the one who decided to have the signs that list what you cannot bring into the ballpark where you don't see them until AFTER you've gone through the inspection of carry-in stuff. I've pointed it out every time I've walked into the ballpark, but no one seems to notice the irony but me.
Best Food: $1/slice Freschetta pizza stand directly across 13th St from the Stadium. Second place (because of the $4 ballpark price tag) goes to the frozen lemonade which is heaven on earth on a 90 deg day.
Best Shout From the Stands: "Right Field Sucks" from the 10 people in the left-field bleachers after a long rain delay. (Right Field Bleachers have a answering shout, but couldn't get the job done this time.)

There is no where like Rosenblatt Stadium during the College World Series. See you there at 4 pm today!