Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A Day at the Ballpark

This is how the Uncool Family spent Monday, April 1, 2013. Once we made it out of the neighborhood, of course.

tailgate45566_10200982072859092_257092753_nGiven how low my beloved and beleaguered Mets are predicted to finish this year, the ballpark was not very crowded for Opening Day even though it was allegedly a sellout. As proof, I submit that this was the first and only line I encountered all day at the park.

catchAll the Opening Days I’ve attended (19 now), all the games I’ve been to at this park and its predecessor, this was the first time I ever had a catch out in the parking lot. This fact did not impress Excitable. Maybe it will when he has a kid of his own.

scoreboard

flagsingrusty-waveRusty Staub, my favorite player while growing up, threw out the first pitch. It was his birthday. No April foolin’. Oddly, I meet him a few years ago when I went to a game for my birthday. When I told him how, at age 7, I cried when the Mets traded him to Detroit, he said nothing. However, his blank stare contained great, great pity for me.cotton-candyhouseusMy annual arm’s length point-n-shoot of me and My Love. If you think we look happy, know that I was literally giddy all day long. Opening Day does that to me. My Love gets the same way whenever she is within a mile of a blackjack table.famike

outside-citiThe Mets ended up stomping all over the opposing Padres, 11-2, although I missed basking in the glory while walking out of the park amid a cheering crowd drunk on early success and overpriced Bud Light.

We left at the top of the seventh with the Mets having a comfortable five-run lead because Excitable wanted to get back home to make his Little League practice. I couldn’t argue with him on that.

So we hurried home early, missing a rare Mets grand slam, but made it to the field just 20 minutes late.

Only to find out practice had been canceled.

Win some, lose some. We can only hope for more of the former than the latter ... this season and in all those to come.

Smells like: ,

18 comments:

  1. KrystalApril 3, 2013 at 9:32 AM

    That looks like so much fun. Reminds me of the passion I have for the Miami Heat...and awesome pics!! Very talented.

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  2. MeredithApril 3, 2013 at 9:57 AM

    This brought back so many Mets memories! I grew up in Ohio but my NY-born-and-bred parents brought us home every summer and the trip always included a game at Shea Stadium. I'll never forget my mother's horror when I asked the concession stand employee for a diet soda using my midwesterner's term "pop." I swear she didn't speak to me for a week.

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    1. Kevin McKeeverApril 3, 2013 at 7:17 PM

      I know all about "pop" and 'Sacks" courtesy of my Nebraskan wife.

      Delete
  3. danielApril 3, 2013 at 10:14 AM

    I got to sit in the dugout to watch the Mariners beat Oakland on Opening Day. Granted, we watched the game on the jumbotron or whatever the screen is called because Seattle isn't actually allowed to have Opening Day...

    It's funny the sort of pageantry Opening Day for baseball has that isn't present in other sports.

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    1. Kevin McKeeverApril 3, 2013 at 7:20 PM

      I did Opening Day at an empty stadium the first year the Mets were in Citi Field but on the road to start the season. Very strange. But Ed "The Glider" Charles did let me try on his 1969 Mets WS ring.

      Delete
  4. Verdant EarlApril 3, 2013 at 10:37 AM

    Great Opening Day for the Mets. Seems like they have one of those every year. Remarkable how well they do on Opening Day.

    The Yankees day? Not so much. Long season.

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  5. Chad NikazyApril 3, 2013 at 2:20 PM

    19 opening days!? Awesome. I grew up a Mets fan in during the mid-80s (the glory days). We lived in Tampa at the time, the home of Dwight Gooden, so I met Doc a few times. Having actually lived in Atlanta at one time, and our relocation to Nashville later on, caused me to eventually switch my allegiance to the Braves. But I still fondly remember being a Mets fan in the days of Gooden, Strawberry, Hernandez, Carter, Dykstra, and Mookie.

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    1. Kevin McKeeverApril 3, 2013 at 7:21 PM

      OD truly is my happiest day of the year.

      Excluding the ones My Love graces me with her, um, presence, of course.

      Delete
  6. BijouxApril 3, 2013 at 3:49 PM

    Looks like a beautiful day for baseball! Sounds like Rusty doesn't appreciate his fans - BOO!

    Tell Meredith she was right - it's POP!

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    1. Kevin McKeeverApril 3, 2013 at 7:22 PM

      He was a very nice guy, but completely shocked I think. And huge. He's gotta weigh close to 300 these days.

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  7. SurprisedMomApril 3, 2013 at 11:32 PM

    I don't think I've ever been to an opening day. I'm not really a sports fan, but if asked I will say I'm a Cubs fan. It's because of Grandpa. He spent a lot of time yelling at the TV calling the players, managers, etc, "fat heads." (Imagine that with an Irish brogue.) As for beleaguered, I think Cubs fans invented that word.

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  8. Kevin McKeeverApril 4, 2013 at 3:55 PM

    And here I thought the word Cubs fan invented was "masochistic."

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  9. meleah rebeccahApril 9, 2013 at 3:34 PM

    Awwwwwww! How fabulous!!

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  10. Michael from dadcation.comApril 9, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    I remember when Chad liked the Mets. What a hoser!

    I only go to Braves games when people from out of town come visit and want to see the Braves (like Chad). I'm not patient enough to be a big baseball fan, it seems.

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  11. ( A Phillies) Mom of 2April 10, 2013 at 1:34 PM

    Too early to tell, but I may be routing for the Mets again this year......

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  12. Hip Hop beatsApril 17, 2013 at 1:25 PM

    Great Opening Day for the Mets

    ReplyDelete

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