Game 2: The Full Price Version
<p class="MsoNormal">We actually had to stand in line.<span> </span>There were only four of us, and we actually had to stand in line.<span> </span>We paid full price ($10 per ticket).<span> </span>Granted, we ended up sitting about thirty feet from the field, but that doesn’t matter.<span> </span>What matters: we paid full price.<span> </span>We stood in line.<span> </span>Wow. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I wish I had more for you, but Saturday wasn’t nearly as insane as Friday.<span> </span>Sorry.<span> </span>So, with that in mind, here are some tips for out-of-towners in Tropicana Field:</p> <ul> <li>The trick to getting into the box seating area:<span> </span>all the ushers are like ninety years old.<span> </span>Their bladders are not what they used to be.<span> </span>Be patient, walk the perimeter and wait for an opening.<span> </span>It will come to you and you will sit in a nice spot.<span> </span>Trust me.</li> <li>Don’t get mad when the Tampa Bay fans try to drown out the crowd noise of your fans.<span> </span>Let them try.<span> </span>It is, after all, their stadium.</li> <li>Don’t park in the city.<span> </span>The meter-maid industry is huge in St. Pete.<span> Just suck it up and pay the parking fee.<br /></span></li> <li>Don’t get the Nachos Supreme.<span> </span>Their definition of supreme involves cheese, salsa and jalapenos.<span> </span>Man, I’d hate to see the regular nachos.<span> </span>What do they do?<span> </span>Throw a bag of tortilla chips at you and tell you to f--- off (I’m self-editing).</li><li>Try the foot-long dog and the fries.<span> </span>Nothing to write home about, but they ain’t bad.</li> <li>Always try to get tickets outside.<span> </span>People give these away like you wouldn’t believe.<span> </span>In this town, having a pair of Devil Ray tickets is like having a rash: no one even wants to look at them, let alone touch them.<span> </span>If you’re not from Boston, New York or (apparently) St. Louis, you’ll never pay full price.<span> </span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal">And finally, the game: we won.<span> </span>It wasn’t pretty, but we won.<span> </span>Izzy made it interesting in the late innings, Albert Pujols took one out (while I was in the beer line, which meant I high-fived a total stranger.<span> </span>Man, I love the random, total-stranger bonding moment) and Scotty Rolen is on the mend, a fact which caused this conversation between Peek and I:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Me:<span> </span>Do you think the Cardinals wanted Scotty to go one rehab assignment in the minors, and he was like, ‘hell, we’re playing the Devil Rays.<span> </span>Can’t I just do it there?’</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Peek:<span> </span>Yes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">He ain’t the best color man in the game for nothing (all homage paid to Bob Ueker and the move, Major League).<span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Peek just read this blog and mentioned that I left out one important thing: Peek brought a beach ball, which he inflated and sent flying in the box-seat section. A security guard eventually got a hold of it and then cut it in half with a large knife, as if he was taking care of a major nuisance (or gutting a deer). So, here's a shout out to that security guard: thanks for protecting us from the Beach Ball. Oh yeah, and we're bringing ten more for today's game so sharpen that hunting knife. Jerk.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>