first of all, let me apologize for both the text-heaviness of this post, as well as its delay in being written. i've been having some issues with photos on my iphone/ipad (damn you iphoto!) which caused both of the waits. i'll up the photos as soon as i can figure out how to do so.
it was finally here. opening day of the season. opening day of the new park. lots of build-up to get to this point; would the day live up to the lofty expectations?
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it was finally here. opening day of the season. opening day of the new park. lots of build-up to get to this point; would the day live up to the lofty expectations?
it was a great day tarnished by some rough spots: the marlins performance for one, the travesty of propping the greatest boxer in the history of the sport up on a golf cart like a trembling wax dummy for another. but all in all i'm glad that i was there, and i'm happy i was there with the group i was. my dad and i attended the first marlins game together, we closed the old stadium together and we opened this one together. to me that's a pretty special thing.
enough emotion, on to the baseball.
met up in davie at dad's office. already had a couple beers and had a cooler stocked with a couple more for the walk from the parking garage to the stadium and as we wandered the outskirts.
first hit a bit of traffic as we got on the 836. honestly, it wasn't too bad. from what i observed at that time in the afternoon it didn't seem like the parking situation was too bad, either, though i am sure that got worse as the time got closer to first pitch.
we parked on the forth floor of the garage and headed down to the loud-ass party going on in front of the stadium. every news van satellite truck in town--both local and national--was there. espn had their pre-game stage production set up on the front lawn, and there was band playing on another stage. there were hundreds of people in line to get into the team store, so we opted for a stand outside that was selling opening day merchandise. i grabbed a couple of balls for some buddies who wouldn't be there, and a $20 (!!!) program for myself. didn't want to run the risk of damaging that overpriced crap, so eric and i ran it back to the car and took advantage of the opportunity to load up on a couple more beers.
we walked back to the plaza and met up with the rest of the group to head into the stadium. a quick search through my bag and we were in. it was a pretty exciting moment, though i don't anyone was as excited as this this guy:
met up in davie at dad's office. already had a couple beers and had a cooler stocked with a couple more for the walk from the parking garage to the stadium and as we wandered the outskirts.
first hit a bit of traffic as we got on the 836. honestly, it wasn't too bad. from what i observed at that time in the afternoon it didn't seem like the parking situation was too bad, either, though i am sure that got worse as the time got closer to first pitch.
we parked on the forth floor of the garage and headed down to the loud-ass party going on in front of the stadium. every news van satellite truck in town--both local and national--was there. espn had their pre-game stage production set up on the front lawn, and there was band playing on another stage. there were hundreds of people in line to get into the team store, so we opted for a stand outside that was selling opening day merchandise. i grabbed a couple of balls for some buddies who wouldn't be there, and a $20 (!!!) program for myself. didn't want to run the risk of damaging that overpriced crap, so eric and i ran it back to the car and took advantage of the opportunity to load up on a couple more beers.
we walked back to the plaza and met up with the rest of the group to head into the stadium. a quick search through my bag and we were in. it was a pretty exciting moment, though i don't anyone was as excited as this this guy:
(thanks to zoo with roy for starting this epic meme, which has actually turned into a bit of a saga:
original post, and epic follow-up)
we made our way up the ramp (which was lined with members of the fushu daiko japanese drumming group banging away) and stopped at the promenade level, which is situated at the back of the lower bowl of the stadium. headed immediately down the aisle as close as we could get to the field; once at the railing we were situated a bit behind first base. took a couple quick pics and then headed up to the promenade to check out the food and other assorted goings-on.
first of all, as you can expect the place was packed. the lines weren't for food or beer, but for memorabilia. every team store i saw had a line out the door (i didn't even make it into one this go-around), and luckily we purchased out programs before hand, because vendors selling nothing but those overpriced picture books were slammed with customers throughout the night.
pops grabbed a chicken sandwich from burger 305, and we bumped into the rabbi for our temple... at where else but the kosher korner. took a quick detour to check out the bobblehead museum (no gary carter, weak...) before heading up the ramp again to our seats on the 300 level.
we finally made it to our seats about 10 minutes before the pregame festivities were set to begin. i filled out my scorecard and we got friendly with out neighbors. there was definitely a feeling of camaraderie in the air, and i hope that i recognize faces in section 309 as i go to more games this season.
much has been written locally and nationally about the pregame show, so i'm going to give a quick run down:
in case you were wondering, there was a ballgame played, though someone may have forgot to tell the marlins. j.j. looked off, and the bats were ineffective at best. i had an awesome, though 14 buck, steak sandwich from a cuban stand in right field. came with plantain chips and a tasty chimmichurri spread.
by the middle of the sixth the place started emptying out, perfect par for the miami crowd course. i expect weeknight games to announce good attendance but actually be much emptier. glad i got weekend tickets, because i still think making it down there in time for the first pitch would be nearly impossible for me.
marlins lost, we got back to the garage pretty quickly, and it took about 20 minutes to get out and on the road. mission accomplished, good times had. i was already looking forward to my next game before i got back to my car.
first of all, as you can expect the place was packed. the lines weren't for food or beer, but for memorabilia. every team store i saw had a line out the door (i didn't even make it into one this go-around), and luckily we purchased out programs before hand, because vendors selling nothing but those overpriced picture books were slammed with customers throughout the night.
pops grabbed a chicken sandwich from burger 305, and we bumped into the rabbi for our temple... at where else but the kosher korner. took a quick detour to check out the bobblehead museum (no gary carter, weak...) before heading up the ramp again to our seats on the 300 level.
we finally made it to our seats about 10 minutes before the pregame festivities were set to begin. i filled out my scorecard and we got friendly with out neighbors. there was definitely a feeling of camaraderie in the air, and i hope that i recognize faces in section 309 as i go to more games this season.
much has been written locally and nationally about the pregame show, so i'm going to give a quick run down:
- it was awesome to see the home run sculpture go off, but i wish i would have none about it ahead of time. either that or they should have saved it for the first regular season marlins home run, as they said they would.
- the biggest cheers came when the roof started opening. i was surprised at how fast it went.
- cabaret dancers in full regalia escorted the marlins out as the rosters were announced. i thought the move to vegas feint was long completed....
- the all spanish conversation between the crying kid and his relative in the military was forced and awkward. definitely could have done with out it.
- but that little dog and pony show was nothing compared the absolute travesty that was dragging the diseased body of the greatest boxer who ever lived out in front of a shocked crowd. truly disturbing.
in case you were wondering, there was a ballgame played, though someone may have forgot to tell the marlins. j.j. looked off, and the bats were ineffective at best. i had an awesome, though 14 buck, steak sandwich from a cuban stand in right field. came with plantain chips and a tasty chimmichurri spread.
by the middle of the sixth the place started emptying out, perfect par for the miami crowd course. i expect weeknight games to announce good attendance but actually be much emptier. glad i got weekend tickets, because i still think making it down there in time for the first pitch would be nearly impossible for me.
marlins lost, we got back to the garage pretty quickly, and it took about 20 minutes to get out and on the road. mission accomplished, good times had. i was already looking forward to my next game before i got back to my car.
visiting team (st. louis cardinals) scorecard - 4/4/12
home team (miami marlins) scorecard - 4/4/12
i'm on a mission to make these look better once scanned. anyone with any suggestions, fire away.
How you could leave out Eric almost getting shanked in the parking lot is beyond me.
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