Today was almost perfect. Summer is officially gone and fall has arrived, especially with the winds off Lake Erie blustering around Progressive Field. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my father, bonding over perhaps our strongest passion: the game of baseball. We got to the game two hours early so we could watch the Indians’ batting practice, and it was just like old times. My childhood centered around trying to catch home run balls or begging players to toss me one, and so being in the right-field bleachers with dad again was like a blast from the past. The only difference today was that we BOTH got baseballs, instead of none like before. Even though the Indians dropped 8.5 games out with the loss, it was fun to see the players during BP. We normally don’t get there soon enough to watch the home team hit, or in time to see the pitchers shagging balls in the outfield. Indians’ All-Star closer Chris Perez was hysterical. He was running all over the place, chucking sinkers at the batboy, and talking to people in the crowd. It was great.
My actual experience in the Cleveland Indians Social Suite was great. I had never been in a suite before, so this was completely new for me. Now, it was a free pair of tickets so I wasn’t expecting much, and there wasn’t any free food (unfortunately), but it was so much fun to spend that time in a great environment with my dad. It started on the ceremonial first pitches when Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little and cornerback Joe Haden tossed strikes to Jason Donald. Haden was wearing a half Colt McCoy and half Grady Sizemore jersey, pretty funny. It was nice because the suite provided some warmth on the chilly evening, but the comfort didn’t last long.
No, I’m not talking about the five-run first inning the Tigers had, or even the three run second. I’m talking about the annoying suitemates that joined us. I have never felt so trapped at a baseball game before in my life. The amount of ignorance coming out of her mouth was incredible. I’m sorry, but just because someone has responded to you on Twitter before doesn’t mean your friends. And I assure you that you screaming to the umpire will not change his mind. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that Miguel Cabrera can’t even hear you telling him he sucks. Lastly, just because a guy had a bad outing (seems like every time for Fausto Carmona), it doesn’t mean he is a bum and needs demoted. Saying that you read an article that the Dolans are just trying to make the team look attractive to a buyer so they can move the team out of town isn’t original. It’s the freaking plot to Major League. Give me a break. She was soon joined by an annoying twit of a boy who kept yelling at Jhonny Peralta. Like Jhonny chose to leave Cleveland last summer when the Indians traded him? Sheesh. I blame poor parenting.
Aside from the annoying sound of a voice ringing in my ears the entire time, it was great. It was the first time I got to watch an Indians game with Tom Hamilton playing in the background. Unfortunately, that woman was talking so much nonsense that I could hardly hear him.
I did learn something about major league baseball today. I have officially declared that Miguel Cabrera has now become a “stop-what-you’re-doing-to-watch” player when he’s hitting. He is an incredible hitter, and if Tigers fans were smart they’d stop crying for Verlander to be MVP and focus on their legitimate MVP candidate.
The social suite was an incredible experience, and it is definitely something that will catch on throughout all of sports. There are plenty of stadiums and arenas that have unused suites at every game, and there are hundreds of thousands people using social media and the connection will be brilliant.
No comments:
Post a Comment