Danielle and I were looking at Nats and Orioles tickets as soon as they became available since they are the two teams closest to us here in Northern Virginia. As Boston Red Sox fans, our first priority was getting tickets to Nats/Sox games in DC and O's/Sox games in Baltimore. We ended up with tickets to an exhibition game between the Nats and the Sox on a Tuesday afternoon in early April.
We both requested half-days at work and made our way, via metro, into DC to Nationals Park. It was just as beautiful as we remembered it. The weather was gorgeous, especially for an afternoon in early April. It's one of the perks of living below the Mason-Dixon line, moderate temperatures. Being from New England, this is a big deal for me.
Another perk of living in the DC area is that a lot of people are originally from another part of the country. Many of the area residence migrated here from their hometowns/states for jobs. I am a prime example of that. With many people being from other places, you find there are a lot of fans of seemingly random teams. We first noticed on the metro that there were going to be more Red Sox fans at this exhibition game than Nats fans. I guess it's not too surprising given the population factor I just mentioned in addition to the Nats track record in the MLB. Either way, it was comforting to know we could be at an away game and still feel like we were routing for the home team. Check out the Pedroia jersey in front of us as we entered Nationals Park in Southeast DC.
The last Nats game we next to was on 9/11 this past year. We sat in cheap nosebleed seats but enjoyed our time anyway. This time, we had amazing seats which made our game time experience much more enjoyable. We sat behind left field in the second row behind the wall. Those seats are the best in my opinion because most people are right-handed and if a right-handed batter hits a homerun, the ball is more likely to come in my direction. I've always wanted to catch a homerun ball during a major league baseball game. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment felt by those who have been lucky enough the caught one. Of all the people in the stadium, only one person gets to catch each homerun ball. Plus, it's like getting your fifteen minutes of fame. Everyone around you is excited for you because someone near them caught the ball; even though they're jealous that they didn't catch the ball instead. Also, if the homerun is featured on ESPN or another sports news broadcast, you're most likely going to be on the news, too. Let's face it, everyone loves to be seen on television.
Unfortunately for me, I was the jealous person excited that the ball was caught by someone near me. Two homerun balls came our way. The first one was almost caught by a middle-aged man but, instead of catching the ball, the ball hit him in the chest and it dropped back into the outfield. It was still ruled as a homerun though. The left fielder threw the ball back up into the stands and someone else near us caught the ball.
Then, another homerun ball came our way later in the game. It was caught by some one a couple rows back from the first guy who dropped the ball. The guy who caught it this time was right across the aisle from me. I was so close! When he caught it, he gave the ball to a little boy in the row in front of him. I know if I had caught the ball, despite how excited I would have been, I would have given it to the little boy who was sitting in front of me; even though he was a Nats fan who was openly rooting against my team.
I would have felt like a jerk if I didn't hand it over to him. Even if I didn't keep the ball, I at least could say that I have caught a homerun ball. That, in itself, would have been enough for me. Regardless of the fact that I had come so close to catching two homerun balls and failed, I had a blast at the exhibition game. And, the Red Sox won. It was a one run game which made me a bit concerned about the season ahead (which I was right to be worried about based on the season so far) but a win is a win.
The next day at work, some of my co-workers were complaining about the extra traffic that the ball game caused for them during their evening commutes and jokingly blamed me. I laughed it off knowing that they were joking but also that they were jealous that they hadn't gone to the game rather than working all day.
I love taking little day trips. They're like small doses of adventure that carry you over to the next big adventure. For me, this adventure was special because it got me out of work early for the day, it involved my favorite sport and my favorite baseball team, and I had great company. People should reward themselves with little adventures more often. It makes you happier.
Get out and enjoy the weather and the fun things that come with spring and summer time!
Sincerely,
J.A.B.
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