Phanaticism

The fact that the Phillies are playing in the World Series this year is just sort of crazy to me. It was made crazier by reading this other fact: "The age of the team combined with its history of adversity has earned them the distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of major league Baseball."

The last time the Phillies played in the World Series was over a decade ago (and when I knew the whole lineup), and their only victory was in 1980 (and when my parents went to see it). I have a T-shirt from then that declares them world champs, and while I am really just happy they've got to this point, I can't help but hope it's lucky. The other, silly, off-topic thing I just realized is that both teams names are guys's names, so that MLB heds like "Rays Earn Date with Phils" make me think of a guys in suits or uniforms on a double date eating at a candlelit table. Because while I enjoy baseball, experience has taught me not to take it too seriously.

Balls?

Last night, I went to see the Phillies play the Nationals, and this time there were no rain delays. The Phillies won (surprise!), and there were plenty of fellow fans, many of whom I suspect were from Jersey, to cheer them on. My seats, however, were with friends from work, that is, guys from Montélimar and Toulouse.



I encouraged them to complement their first baseball game viewing with some overpriced beer and hot dogs (next time, a half smoke). More importantly I had to explain all of the rules of baseball to them, in French (except stuff like "fly ball" and "RBI"). It was an interesting experience on two levels. First, I realized that I was explaining all the règles du jeu without really thinking about it--that is, I felt fluent. Moreover, I kept thinking how it felt good that I, a 20-something female, was explaining the ins and outs of a sport to a couple of 20-something males.

One of them followed pretty well because he knew a little bit about cricket. He asked a lot of questions, and I answered pretty much every one. It made me think back to when I was a golf caddie, and, not any more petite than I am now, no one asked for my opinion. There were a lot of other issues, such as people asking "Can you carry that [bag]?", but I didn't mind being mum on putting advice because I didn't really have any to dispense. I could carry clubs, check yardage, and banter, but I've never been much of a golfer. As someone who played softball for years and loved the lumbering old Vet, though, I was happy to spout off about strikes, errors, force outs, etc. Dontyouevah is also available to advise on football and basketball. No good on hockey or curling.

"Fascinating" photo from my Flickr.

Blaming it on the rain

Last night, I went to my first Nats game at their new stadium. It didn't start or end well.

I unthinkingly got on the D6 to Stadium-Armory, realized that said stadium didn't apply to where I was actually going, and got on the metro. Got off at Waterfront, like Tyler advised, but should have gotten off at Navy Yard; while walking, it started to pour. Then it rained some more.

Then, at the top of the fourth, they delayed the game. I ate peanuts, joked around, talked on the phone. Two hours later (about 10 p.m.), they resumed play. Some live-action bobblehead presidents ran a race; I was told it's rigged so that TR never wins (Wikipedia confirms it). "Jefferson" won. Maybe ten minutes later, the rain started again! Given that we had already patiently waited a few hours, we weren't going to stick around any longer. Don't think we get a rain check because they eventually finished the game. Apparently at some point they made an announcement that they were going to reimburse people $1.35 for the metro. (Can you hear my scoffing?)

From what I saw of it from under my umbrella, the stadium seems alright. Like most new(ish) baseball stadiums I've seen (Camden Yards + Citizens Bank Park) , it feels very open. Unrelated, but my hot dog made my stomach hurt. Finally, one of the weird things is that the women's restroom had no mirrors, just reflective plastic frames with Geico ads. I didn't really need one, despite feeling kind of disheveled from the rain, but that seemed weird to me.

Conclusion: I'll go back in July when the Phillies play.