Sunday 5/15 - Texas Rangers
Tim invited us to the Rangers game, and since the Mavericks weren't playing, we decided to go. It was my fifth game of the year, and it was really nice to get out to a day baseball game before it gets too hot. Obviously not new to me, Rangers' games are still really fun. It was a pretty generic game and nothing really to note.
Monday 5/16 - Frisco Roughriders
More baseball, but this time, it was the younger guys. The Rangers recently signed a Cuban defector named Leonys Martin. We've heard that, sooner or later, Martin will be the starting centerfielder for the Rangers. He has speed, defense, and a solid bat (in other words, he's everything that Borbon was promised to be). And I wanted to check him out as quickly as possible. And since the Rangers' number one prospect (Martin Perez) is also at Frisco, it was a simple solution: find a game where Perez is pitching at home and go.
Sunday night, I was talking with Ashley, and we decided to simply buy tickets at the gate. It's Frisco, its the middle of the season, and outside of hardcore Rangers' fans, there wasn't a great deal of Martin buzz.
But I arrived to work on Monday morning and my friend Matt (who also planned on going) walked up to me and said, "I think Nelson Cruz screwed us." Not having any idea what that meant, he went on to explain that All-Star Cruz was going to be doing a rehab assignment at Frisco starting Monday. Matt had checked online and saw that, presumably because of the assignment, the game appeared mostly sold out. The only tickets he could find were $20 ones.
Ashley was out if that was the case, and I was debating it. After all, we only spend $15 for the big league club...$20 for the minor leaguers seemed a bit much. But Matt decided to call, and I told him that we were in if we could get $10 seats. He called, and he was surprised when they told him that there were four $10 seats available on the first row of the 1st base line.
We assumed that some extra tickets had been released because the web site was pretty insistent that no tickets remained. But when we got to the park, something was off. No one was there. No one.
Maybe they were stuck in traffic on the Toll Road? Nope. No one was there, and no one else was coming. There were times when the stadium was so silent that you could hear the first baseman walk on the dirt of the infield.
But that also meant that the game was ripe for heckling. I've never really been a heckler (mostly because I'm generally quiet and I never sit close enough to do it.) But with Ashley, Matt, and Matt's friend also participating, I went for it. My prime target was a poor kid (who we later found out was from the Metroplex) named Petey Paramore.
Petey, huh? Not Peter or Pete? And this wasn't a 19-year-old guy...he was almost 25. It was time to go by a more adult name, and we let him know it. The highlight for me was when I noticed that Petey was hitting .169. So I yell, "Let's go, Petey! You're so close to .170" The joke being, of course, that .170 is still terrible.
Everyone around us laughed. And I knew I'd made a good heckle when I noticed that the Roughriders' 1st baseman was laughing too.
Some of it may have been a bit mean, but heckling might actually be part of baseball's DNA. The fans are allowed to try and get in the heads of the players, and I think they know that. We also picked on a couple other players, including a guy from New Jersey who had these terrible douche-like giant reflective sunglasses in his official picture.
But the game was pretty fun. Martin and Perez played well, and it was good to see Cruz hit again. If you want to see young players desperately trying to make the big leagues, it's really fun. Frisco is cheap, and they try to make the games fun for people of all ages. It's distracting sometimes, but it's a good time. I recommend it.
Tuesday 5/17
Tim texted me Monday and asked if I wanted to go to game one of the Western Conference Finals. I said yes and asked about the price. He said $125.
And while I'm definitely on board the Mavs' wagon, I was a bit hesitant at the price. I don't spend that much on tickets much, and I didn't want to spend $125 just to see the team lose. But I figured the Mavs would show up for the game, and I bit the bullet.
Now, prior to this season, I was a bit nervous about going to Maverick playoff games. I'd been to two before, both against the Spurs in separate seasons. In 2003, I went to the game in the Western Conference Finals where Dirk got hurt. In 2006, I went to the game where Jason Terry got suspended for punching Michael Finley in his special area. Two losses and two big negative marks.
But I went to the first playoff game of the season against the Blazers this season, and they won. So, as part of my effort to be less superstitious, I decided to go for it.
Now, I've been to playoff games before. I've been to Stanley Cup games. I've been to regular season sellouts. And, generally, traffic around the American Airlines Center flows pretty well.
Not this night. Tim and I got to the area around the arena around 7:20, and we got in our seats after the lineups were announced. It took a while to get to the parking lot, we had to park in an auxiliary lot a lot further than I've ever parked, and there was a giant line to get inside the arena. I've never seen anything like it before.
But it was good. The crowd was electric and loud, and Dirk Nowitzki carried the team on his shoulders. It just goes to show you that this town is desperately hungry for a championship, and if the teams show us something, we'll do our best to carry them.
5/22 - Colonial
I've never been into golf. To me, the sport is for rich old men, and it's just never been that entertaining to me. But a few years ago, I was invited into a fantasy golf league, and it kinda changed things. I've always maintained that fantasy sports are great for me because they get me interested in games/events that I don't care about. Because for me to watch sports, I have to have a reason to cheer for one of the teams. Fantasy sports give me a reason.
So if I was bored and golf was the only thing on, I could try to root for the guys I chose for that tournament.
One day, I was hanging out with Ashley's church group, and one of them was talking about fantasy sports. I mentioned that I had played fantasy golf (and that it was actually fun), and one of them (Kara) decided to start a league. And she did, and I've been one of the few people to keep up with it.
Kara is a Chicago Blackhawks fan, and I gave her my seats for the Blackhawks-Stars game at the end of the season. To pay me back, she offered me a ticket to the Colonial.
I've obviously never been to a golf tournament, not ever having been a big fan of the game. But because I'm trying to get out more and try new things, I decided to go for it (which, yes, is a theme). I don't know Kara very well, but she's always been really nice to me and I knew it'd be fun to hang out with her.
So I woke up early Sunday morning and drove out to Fort Worth. I parked at TCU, and I was a bit embarrassed to know how close the Colonial course was to the campus (I didn't really know where it was, and I didn't know I could've walked there from campus).
And it was a pretty good time. I don't have a favorite player, and the field didn't have big names like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. But I recognized a few names, and I was able to see some of the bigger names. One of the ones that had a huge crowd was young gun Rickie Fowler. He was dressed head-to-toe in bright orange, and his fans dressed the same way. It was pretty cool to see that, since it was as close to a "big gallery" as you could get.
And it was pretty cool to see how close you could get to these pro golfers. One time, we were walking up, and Kevin Na was just right in front of us. He'd hit his ball way off course, and he was looking for it. It ended up right in front of a big concession tent, and I watched all the drama unfold as Na argued with officials about where the ball should be dropped. I was literally three feet from them, and I heard everything. For some reason, the behind the scenes stuff of sports really fascinates me (they're normal people?!?!) and that was pretty cool. Particularly since they do such a good job of segregating the fans from the players usually.
Which is one thing that really bothered me. The way that tournament officials, caddies, and the players are so paranoid about noise and movement. If you're walking around when someone is taking a shot, they make you stand. If you're whispering anywhere, the caddies glare at you. There must be total silence or the golfers can't do their jobs.
Which I think is really stupid. As I mentioned earlier, part of baseball is heckling. Part of basketball is an electric crowd. Fans in every sport are allowed (and usually encouraged) to make as much noise as possible. They're part of the game, and it's always been that way.
But golfers can't play if someone is walking behind them? Or if someone is whispering at a level where the golfer can't possibly hear them? I know that's also tradition, but it seems pretty anal to me.
So I'm declaring, right now, that I will one day sponsor a golf tournament that I can believe in. Fans will be encouraged to cheer (and, yes, heckle within reason) at the golfers. There will be music playing. Movement will be allowed. Let's see if these guys can do it without silence and stillness.
But, outside of that, it was a good time. I got some sun, got a lot of walking in, and it was a new experience. I'm not sure I'd go all the time, but I'm sure I'd have fun every once and a while.
One week, four different sporting events in four different venues. Definitely good times.
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