So when Lloyd and Allan suggested we go to a Major League Baseball game, Arizona Diamondbacks vs the Colorado Rockies, I was less than enthusiastic. The thought of sitting for hours in a hot ball field in 40+ temperatures was more than I could take. But when Lloyd convinced me that the ball field was enclosed and air conditioned, although somewhat skeptical, I agreed to go to Chase Field for my first Major League ball game.
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| Me, Allan and Emily outside Chase Field after the game |
And he was right. It was an enclosed field, complete with walls and roof, and it was air conditioned. After I cooled down from the hot walk from the parkade to the field, I settled in to enjoy the game.
And so did Emily and Allan
It was an interesting experience. As it turns out, going to a ball game isn't about watching players pitch the ball, bat it, get home runs, etc. No indeed. Going to a ball game is about people watching, and visiting, and eating and participating in all the off-field fun. Quite an experience.
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| Emily and Allan enjoying their first ball park hot dogs |
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| The field, pre-game, with a giant headed mascot entertaining the crowd |
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| The score board, which didn't figure prominently in our enjoyment of the game |
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| Another giant headed mascot, pre-game |
Inside Chase field (a building, remember, not an actual field) there were dozens of booths - like a giant food court - designed to separate the game goer from his hard earned money...souvenirs, t-shirts,hats, food of every kind, drinks, and much much more.
Then, in the bleachers there were the food vendors - walking up and down the stairs in the bleachers these people carried peanuts, popcorn, cotton candy, beer, water, nuts, rice krispie squares, cookies, hot dogs, and anything else you can imagine, shouting out their wares and keeping the people in the stands from perishing from hunger and thirst.
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| This guy has a tray full of drinks, rice krispie squares and candy |
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| This one walked the bleachers with soft drinks and bags of cotton candy |
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| This one had bags of popcorn and cinnamon toasted almonds |
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| And this most popular of men carried a barrel of tequila or margueritas (I can't remember which) on his back and kept everyone's cups refilled...for a cost of course. |
The ball field is a great place for people watching. The crowd consisted of everyone from elderly grandparents to tiny babies. This baby's father stood up with the baby in his arms and caught a foul ball in his other hand. Incredible.
Everyone watches and hopes for a stray ball to come into the bleachers so they can take home a souvenir from the game.
And lets not forget the game itself. Baseball is a fairly slow game with bursts of excitements. We managed to witness a couple of exciting home runs, one even by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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| The Pitcher |
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| And the batter |
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| And another batter |
I don't follow baseball so I don't know any of the Diamondback team members or their stats. They all looked pretty good to me.
So overall I enjoyed my first Major League Baseball experience. I appreciated the air conditioned field too. Without it I never would have attempted to sit through a game. Good call guys!
7 comments:
You are so right. If you want to really see the game - stay at home and watch it on TV. But the whole experience at the ball field (if you can afford it) is so much fun. People watching is a must.
I was worried about you in our heat. We've been acclimating to it for a couple of months and it's hard on us. I can't imagine how it must be to come from those 70's to this!
How wonderful to be enclosed with a/c and watching a live baseball game. I'm sure those of us in Ohio would appreciate something like that about now. We're unusually hot here and temps in the 90's are probably keeping a lot of fans away from the game. Someone was very smart indeed when they built that stadium.
Oh I would be struggling in that heat too - I have being hot and sweaty.
The game sounds good though, sometimes it's the atmosphere and fun that makes it so enjoyable.
Keep cool!!!
Glad you enjoyed the game. I've never gone because I thought it would be too hot.....nice to know there's A.C. In Phoenix and surrounding cities, it can get hot. Tucson is a tad cooler than most of the midwestern and eastern states right now because of the rain but boy it sure gets muggy! Stay cool and have a good time.
Sounds pretty good having AC baseball! Glad you had fun and so much to do as baseball can be soooo boring! Sorry Lloyd!
Well I have to share my experience at my one ball game in the late 1950's that had nothing to do with the game. It had everything to do with the porter from the hotel where the visiting ball team stayed. It seem one of the players had made some racial epithets about him and he showed up to reek his vengeance. I believe I was ten or twelve years old when I noticed all the players began to run wild on the field. First I laughed and then I heard my aunt yelling, "Get on the ground!" as I turned to see this man pointing a gun directly over our heads onto the field and shooting at the players. He managed to kill the man who had offended him and wounded several others. No wonder I don't attend professional baseball games huh?
WELCOME on deck. I've been a fan of BASEBALL since my Daddy first put a bat in my hands at 12 months old. LOL GLAD it was air conditioned and you did not melt. That heat would have made alot of people sick. Didn't know you could get tequila or margueritas at the stadium. TAKE me out to the BALLPARK. Enjoyed the pictorial.
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