Sun and Fun
By Karlsie
It's the phone call I shouldn't have made but couldn't resist while sitting in my seat. Just after 3 pm, I dialed home from my cell and asked my son, "How's the weather?"
"Not too bad, why?"
"Because it's around 80 degrees, I'm wearing sunscreen and sweating while I watch Kevin Youkilis hit a home run," I retorted.
"I hate you."
"Yeah, but I bought you a t-shirt."
"Alright. OK, so I don't hate you now."
At 8am my plane Boston on a frosty St. Patrick's morning. By noon time, I had rented a car and was on my way to City of Palms Park. I had never been there before and it struck me how much it reminded me of the stadium in Pawtucket. It was clean and comfortable but it still felt a bit like Bizarro world where they sold beer in the stands and you had to go down to the concourse for a hot dog. In fact, I heard one of the beer vendors yell out, "Get your cold beer even if you're not thirsty - it's St. Patrick's Day."
There were oddities too. The songs were out of order - playing "Tessie" and "Dirty Water" between innings and starting "Sweet Caroline" in the regular spot but at the chorus instead of the verse.
I sat with three guys - two of whom were Marlins fans and one was a Red Sox fan. It was great to watch the game with people watching from a different perspective and who truly loved the game. We talked about how no one in the American League seems to know how to lay down a real bunt anymore. We talked about players who successfully transitioned between the leagues and those who didn't. (Although, as one Marlins fan pointed out, Edgar Renteria learned how to bunt when he was a fish.)
While the preview of summer was something I loved, the other thing I previewed were some of the chants and call outs I could expect at Fenway this season. Like when Mark Loretta followed Coco Crisp to the plate, someone yelled out, "C'mon Sugar Smacks!" (What's next, calling Trot Honey Comb?)
In the 7th, after Crisp had a nice solid hit, someone yelled out, "You're like a good bowl of cereal in the morning - something to get you started."
After 10 it was tied and time for everyone to go home. That's when it hit me, a year ago I had been posing with the World Series trophy in an auditorium in Newton, MA. A year later, I was sitting in the sun clapping, chanting and taking notes on the back of my score card the way I normally do during the season. Still the regular season can't get here fast enough. I don't have tickets for the home opener, but I do for the next day. I'm taking my son to that game, the one who hates me for calling from Florida to bust his chops. On April 10th we'll be in Pawtucket catching the PawSox do their thing and watch the guys we hope to see in Fenway later in the year.
Right now, all I can say is, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today."
Play Ball!
