My Evening at the Jake

Yesterday morning, my husband and I decided we were going to go to the Indians game that evening. It was a good choice, despite the Tribe losing 5-4. Cleveland is, by far, a sports town. Through thick and thin, (mostly thin) we hang tight in support of our local heros.

I'm not a Browns fan. I'm sure I gave that up after Modell sent the team to Baltimore. I remember the days of the Cardiac Kids, and even though I was young and didn't know all that much, I did know that my heart was broken one too many times. Besides, I don't really like football anyway.

But baseball is a different story. Maybe it's the atmosphere. Maybe it's the fans. Maybe I don't have a clue what I'm talking about. I'm sure it's the latter.

My husband, who is an Oakland Raiders fan, dragged my sorry ass to Buffalo in January for a playoff game back in 93 or 94, when the Raiders were the L.A. Raiders. Buffalo in January is brutal. Sitting up there in an open stadium right off of Lake Erie with a wind chill of -30 and a temperature of -3. I thought I was going to die. And even though we were in the end zone with a bunch of other Raiders fans, I feared once again for my life because the Bills fans were scary. And we were clearly outnumbered. I couldn't have run to save my life. When the game ended, with the Raiders losing, we finally made it back to our car where I started to defrost. When I took my boots off, I literally had to pry my toes apart because they were frozen together. I'm not kidding. Ice crystals on my little piggies. I was horrified.

I ventured to one other football game after that, the Raiders were playing in Cincinnati. It simply sucked from the minute we arrived to the minute we left. I swore off football for good. I've been to Browns games before, way back in the old Cleveland Stadium. There usually was a giganton of a pole right in front of my seat so I saw very little other than rust and grit. (fitting for Cleveland) I'm sure things are much different in the new stadium but I haven't yet wanted to go to a game. I'm sure my husband is cooking up ways in which he can get me to the Browns-Raiders game in Cleveland. Joy.

But back to baseball. The fans are fun, not raucous and raw. Last night's game was rather dull until the last two innings when the Boys of Summer really kicked it up a notch. We took our 7-year old son. We were in the lower box on the third base line, closer to left field. Joonya had his mit poised and ready for every foul ball that didn't come our way. During warm-ups, the boys went down to the field and were able to watch their heros - up close and personal. Although, they did have to fight their way through a gaggle of young women all wearing pink t-shirts sporting "Mrs. Sizemore" across their chests. Grady sure does have a following. And rightfully so.

All in all, it was a great night. I'm looking forward to the playoffs. I'm glad everyone else lost last night too. Especially the Yankees. Boot losers!