Greetings from the trip home…from the Trop! Another great game down here in what is
loosely referred to as “South Florida.”
As of this post, the Rays lead the Wild Card by ½ game, but Boston is up
on Baltimore which would tie us up once again.
As always, I have a few things I would like to bring to your attention:
1.
Tropicana Field is just an ugly place to play
baseball. Since most of you are familiar
with what was formerly the worst place in America to play baseball (the HHH
Metrodome), let me just say that if this Dome had a baggy, it wouldn’t even be
allowed to host a high school baseball regional. The outfield and warning track
wouldn’t pass for a playing surface at the Creighton University Baseball
practice field. I’ve never seen turn
that ugly…that said, this team is doing some things right with the atmosphere
and accessibility of the stadium. There
are plenty of parking spaces and eatery options around the stadium, and the
drive there is absolutely beautiful culminating in a 10-15 minute drive over
the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which is mostly over oceanic waters (and awesome).
2.
The fans at the Rays games are pretty 50-50 when
teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox play there. Since over half of the population of this
area is retired from the Northeast, this shouldn’t be surprising…but it should
be noted that the stadium was STILL only 75% full…if that. Now, for a kid from out of town looking for a
reasonable ticket…this isn’t the end of the world. I paid $25 for a ticket in left field and sat
three rows back and one section over from the foul pole…not too shabby. (Side
Note: Except for the fans I sat next to…they didn’t bring any kind of
excitement to the game. I finally had to
start heckling the Yankee right fielder just to get a rise out of the
surrounding Yankee fans.)
3.
One of my favorite parts…which should come to no
surprise to those of you who are aware of my affinity for WWF wrestling…was the moment
in the 8th inning when Brian Knobbs (known as one half of the Tag
Team phenomenon known as the Nasty Boys) came onto the big screen and started
screaming at fans to “get pumped up” and proceeded to beat his head against a
trashcan lid to prove his point…needless to say…I got out my chair and screamed
until my voice wouldn’t allow me to continue.
Unfortunately…
4.
The Rays also have this thing that will make
some pretty serious noise if they make the playoffs…it’s called “DJ Kitty.” (It should be noted that I hate the very idea
of “DJ Kitty”…it’s reminiscent of the Rally Monkey…but worse) Everytime the Rays are trailing in a game,
the VA staff plays a video of a cat…with a backwards Rays cap…and fake arms…DJ-ing
a fake phonograph along to the beat of a hit from the 90’s. You know what? I absolutely couldn’t stand it…but it got the
people goin…and you can’t argue with results…(speaking of…)
5.
Shortly after they played this infamous cat
video, Joyce blew the roof off of the Trop with a 3 run homer. I’ve never seen a fan base (which averages
roughly 64 years of age) jump out of their seats that quickly. The Rays went from 1 run down to 2 runs ahead
and we never looked back. In addition to
this 3 run blast, I got to witness a triple play…live (Note: I know I am not
giving the triple play the credit it deserves…trust me when I say that I
flipped out when it happened…calm down baseball fanatics)
Despite everything I said previously, Tropicana Field played
a great host for tonight’s game. I can
see why the team is pushing for a new stadium, but I loved every minute of my
time there. All in all it was a
successful day in St. Pete (which is where the Tampa Bay Rays actually
play). For personal reasons I will
temporarily place my traditional love for the Yankees (which I will not get
into here and now) on hold. I will be
cheering for a “Raytober” this year in hopes of catching a few playoff games
down this way!
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