I realize if you aren't into baseball then my affinty for the sport and its history is something you find hard to understand...but I had so much fun this past week....possibly even more than I did in '06 at the World Series.
Went to the HR Derby, which strangely enough isn't something I care all that much about but since Albert and Ryan Howard (hometown boy) were participating, I wanted to catch at least an hour of it. We left about 8:30 because I had made dinner reservations at Shannons (owned by the former player and current Cardinals broadcaster) for 9:00.
Pre-HR Derby:
View from my seats: 
He actually apologized for being in the picture..I laughed and told him the back of his shirt is what I wanted. In case you can't make it out, it says 'U.S. Secret Service'.
See the snipers on the catwalk:
Self-Explanatory ;)
Shannons:
My brother-in-law came in Sunday evening...and he's more into baseball than even I am. By 9:00 AM Monday, we were already downtown and headed to the 'FanFest'. This event is so freakin cool! Basically, its the Convention Center filled with all kinds of inter-active stuff for the kids, tons and tons of memorabilia, radio broadcasts, celebrities walking around, and most importantly, members of baseballs Hall of Fame (HOF)...everywhere you looked! I was in fucking baseball heaven!
I got to meet several of them as well as getting their autographs and pictures. It was just so fucking cool and they were some of the nicest people you'd ever meet. Keep in mind, these were guys I watched when I was kid....and I wasn't disappointed at all.
Went to the HR Derby, which strangely enough isn't something I care all that much about but since Albert and Ryan Howard (hometown boy) were participating, I wanted to catch at least an hour of it. We left about 8:30 because I had made dinner reservations at Shannons (owned by the former player and current Cardinals broadcaster) for 9:00.
Man...was that fucking cool at Shannons. Here's some of the people that were either seated very close or walked by: Whitey Herzog, Lou Brock (HOF), Bob Gibson (HOF), Ken Griffey, Sr., Bruce Sutter (HOF), Jason Bartlett (SS for Tampa Bay) and a couple of guys from the MLB network.
The All-Star Game was very cool, except for the AL winning. The atmosphere rivaled any World Series game that I have been to. The only thing that REALLY sucked was that everyone entering the stadium had to go through metal detectors and then get 'the wand'. This led to lines that were sooooo fucking long, just to get inside....plus they had all kinds of streets and highways closed. All of this was courtesy of Obama. Why Presidents have to show up for these events is beyond me. Don't they get the 'spotlight' enough on a daily basis? Luckily, since we were downtown by 11:00, we weren't affected by the street closings. BUT....I do admit, seeing the snipers on top of the stadium was pretty cool ;)
My apologies to 'The Girl'.....didn't see Utley or Howard anywhere prior to the All-Star game and I wasn't about to go inside the stadium 4 hours prior to game time (once in, you couldn't leave, which meant 'No Smoking') to get their autographs...I'm sure you understand.....right???? ;)
All in all...a great fucking time :)
Ok...a few pictures;
Main Entrance:
Pre-HR Derby:
View from my seats:
How amazing is this?
He actually apologized for being in the picture..I laughed and told him the back of his shirt is what I wanted. In case you can't make it out, it says 'U.S. Secret Service'.
See the snipers on the catwalk: Self-Explanatory ;)Shannons:
8 comments:
Glad you had such a good time! :-)
DANG! Looks like you had a true blast!!!
If you ever come to Houston, we'll take you to an Astros game! Biggio lives down the street from us!
Great pics, Efen!!!
It looks like a friggin' blast. Glad you got to go and see all the celebrities. I myself am a big baseball fan, but I have no one to participate with me. The Boyfriend and his buddies are only crazy about football.
Dish: It was fun :) You think she will? ;) He does throw like a girl....wtf?
ETW: Thank you :)
Kitch: Ya know, I was at the Astrodome years ago...Minute Maid looks really cool....'cept that that 'hill thing' ;) HE DOES?? That is so fucking cool! I tried to get his autograph some years back at Spring Training..bur it was too crowded :(
Vinomom: I was on 'Cloud 9' :) That does suck....if I lived there..we'd go to a few games :)
You were like a kid in a candy store,huh??? Sounds freakin' awesome EFEN! :)
Oh (*sigh*) I understand I guess. I think I'll just go sulk in the corner now
Glad you had a good time it looked pretty cool.
Baseball is *still* The Grand Old Game. Though I love NFL football--and play Fantasy like a motha--baseball holds a special place in my heart.
Detroit had the All-Star Game a few years back. I didn't go, but I still felt pride that our stadium was good enough to host the Game. And I was even more pleased that Pudge competed in the HR Derby.
Baseball is "grand" for many reasons, but the two I like best are, one, there's no clock, and, two, it's one of the, if not the only, sport in which the defense starts with the ball.
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