Go Phillies!

I don't get to go to baseball games all that often so I still get that wide-eyed, child-like astonishment every time I enter a stadium. Just being there is so exhilarating... the enormity of the stadium, the aroma of all the grease-soaked ballgame snacks, the rush of people around you, the laughter of children at the Phanatics antics, the excitement of everyone cheering. Rose, Mark, Kev & I went to the game last night. It was freezing... I got a bad case of windburn, a numb rear and I'm convinced that I had frostbite in my fingers. I was far too excited to worry about the cold though. We had incredible seats, just 4 rows behind the Phillies dugout. We could actually see the player's faces! Right after Kev pointed out that the netting protecting the crowds stopped a bit before our seats, I noticed this not-so-reassuring sign right in front of us...

This made me slightly uneasy. I have an extreme fear of being hit by a ball at a sporting event... any sporting event, really. I flinch at every crack of the bat, I strategically positioned myself behind others at my siblings soccer games, & cheerleading at basketball games was pure torture as we sat right up front so the threat was always present. I'm not sure what instigated this fear of mine, it's been there as long as I can remember. I'm aware that this is somewhat irrational.
Back to the game. We were blessed to be seated in the section right next to the 'heckler', who seemed happy to perpetuate the bad rap that Philly fans get. Every game has one. This guy was obnoxious. He made comments about several player's paychecks, batting averages, how unfashionable Jose Valentin's moustache is, & insisted on yelling, "BALL, that's a BALL" throughout the game. The heckler got especially fired up when Carlos Beltran got up to bat, yelling, "Hey Carlos, how's it feel to make your team lose the World Series." Ouch. That's just mean. On another note, the Philly Phanatic was friggin hilarious. I had no idea he was such an exhibitionist. He was running around & flashing people... it was like a perverse edition of 'Phanatics Gone Wild'. Luckily for all the parents in the crowd, the Phanatic is not anatomically correct. Though the hip gyrations that he was doing weren't exactly child-friendly either. Everyone that I talked to about the game mentioned that we were lucky that we'd get to see Freddy Garcia pitch. I don't know what all the hullabaloo is about. He didn't seem that great. At any rate, here's a pic of Freddy in all his glory...

It rained off and on all day yesterday. I prayed all day that the miserable weather wouldn't scare away the cotton candy man. This is my favorite part of the baseball game. My trip would be incomplete without cotton candy. I learned the hard way that the cotton candy man is kind of lazy and does not like to hike all the way to the 'cheap seats'... Last time I ever sit in the nosebleed section.

Despite my belief, since the last game that I attended broke a huge losing streak, that I was the Phillies 'good luck charm'... they lost 8-1.