The Sox are in a slump. That’s an understatement. Their lead in the AL East has evaporated and the Wild Card position is becoming too close for comfort. The pitching has gone to crap and the defense is looking sloppy. Fortunately, the offense continues to put up big numbers. If it weren’t for the offense, we’d be in MAJOR trouble.
Wifey and I had real good seats. We were directly behind home plate. There’s a net that protects us from foul balls. The net adds an extra element to the ballgame that was certainly lost on me until today. See…the net ensures that this is the least likely place in the ballpark to catch a ball. Even the best laid plan can go awry. There’s a small gap between the top of the net and its anchors located above and behind our section. Upon occasion (3-4 times per game), a foul ball will funnel along the net, find the gap, and drop to the hoping fans below. When this happens, the fans within the vicinity go bonkers. It’s really kind of fun. If you’re ever watching a Fenway game on TV and hear random cheers following a ball fouled straight back…guess what!? The ball found its way down to an unlikely recipient.
Real good seats aren’t quite great seats. Here’s a pic of our favorite seats above the Green Monster.
Although the Sox lost, the day was not! During the early innings, a woman came around and offered to take our picture for a souvenir. We declined, but the father & son in front of us did not. Later in the game, the woman came back and gave the photo to the duo. The Dad put it under his chair. It turns out that this was the only picture of both Ali and I that night. Can you see us trying to escape identification in the background?
***** UPDATE – September 30, 2011 – UPDATE *****
Well, that sucked. I was at a marketing conference in Portland, OR during last night’s Sox – O’s game. The wildcard all came down to the last game of the season. There were a limited number of scenarios and the Red Sox were in control of their destiny. During the sixth inning, I left for dinner in high spirits. The Sox were up by one run and the Yanks were beating the Rays by seven. Imagine my surprise when I returned home to learn that the O’s beat the Sox and the Rays beat the Yanks. …precisely the wrong combination of events. This is a tough pill to swallow. The ESPN analysts are calling it the most exciting day in baseball history. Ugh.