Still, all of the other parts of the baseball game were fantastic, and I'm not even sure that most people were there for the hitting and catching balls bit anyway.
Inevitably, we all rose for a patriotic song at the beginning. The one about stars and spangles was warbled melodramatically as usual, but this time, people clutched their hearts, some with their recently doffed baseball caps, presumably to keep the pride from leaking out. As with the ice hockey, by the time the lyrics 'the land of the freeeeee............... and the home of the brave' came about, the crowds whooped with self congratulatory gratification, wiping away the tears of joy and smugness.
Worse, after the first two hours, we had to rise again for ANOTHER America-is-great song, but this time lyrics were provided so we could all sing along. This was followed by the Giants theme song which had clearly been composed by a musical genius with a gift for lyrics, and not a class of four year olds on a rainy day.
The ball park itself is amazing. It contains a giant Coca Cola bottle, inside of which is a slide. This is so brilliant that I have to say it again. We went to a baseball game, probably the most all-American sport we can partake in as spectators ( I know, I know, it's just primary school rounders, except they have padding for some reason), and here is one of the most corporate symbols of Americanism, the Coca Cola brand and iconic bottle symbol, and inside, and this is the real genius part, people slide down it. I love it. Simple as that. Sheer brilliance.
The people who worked at the ball park that we encountered were courteous, friendly and incredibly helpful. The spectators were a varied bunch and in the main genial and capable of tucking away large amounts of junk food. We were bombarded with people constantly walking up and down the aisles offering all kinds of overpriced goodies, to name but a few, lemonade, frozen lemonade, hot dogs, kettle corn, cotton candy (candy floss), peanuts, sunflower seeds, ice creams and one unfortunate soul had to carry around a vat of hot chocolate on his back. It was hot and the midday sun burned down on us and as the hot chocolate man did his sorry rounds, we slapped on yet more sunscreen. Although as some people were wearing their coats and several layers of clothing, I'm sure he did some trade.
Despite the incessant food offerings, there were also stand after stand of fast food options to be had. Some people never actual made it to their seats as they were too busy stuffing their faces. The people next to us sat down twenty minutes into the game with some nachos each and then an hour later disappeared only to come back and devour two huge hot dogs. Meanwhile, we were drinking vats of liquid in an effort to cool down.
Although, when in Rome.....
It was very casual unlike the ice hockey had been. The game was very much secondary to socialising or eating for lots of people. There were some people sat behind us who used the afternoon as an opportunity to tell other people long and dull stories of various nefarious acts which all seemed to end in the words, 'yeah, we were so drunk.' There were so loud, opinionated and obnoxious and this, combined with the heat and the relative tedium of the game, made me want to maim them. On the other hand, there were the more interesting die-hard fans who had made T-shirts especially to mock the LA Dodgers, were probably even wearing their Giants strip underpants and were prepared in every way for this game. Some had bought radios to listen to the commentary while they watched the game, a very clever idea and which proved most helpful to us too.
All in all, it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and at $13.50 a ticket, good value too.
2 comments:
I like the pics to go with the commentary, and that hot dog is huge, you read about the hot dogs and nachos and things in books, but to the writer they are the norm, so they don't really explain them!
Glad you had a good time - do you sing along to the songs yet, or is more brain washing needed first?
All food is massive and we still haven't got over it! I actually didn't have a hotdog and had a smaller portion of garlic fries later which then gave me bad breath....
I like to think I am impervious to the brain washing (although I doubt it) but no singing was done by me. I suspect that even if I were here for another decade, I would remain mute and inwardly wince, but never say never!
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