Boys and Baseball

So what is it with boys and baseball. Look at the smile on that boy's face. Startling resemblance to the photo taken below don't you think... after the birth of our first born son Alex!!




I knew that this was something that was going to be a huge deal to Cyril on our trip. He hasn't ever seen a MLB game and from the moment we purchased our tickets online from StubHub.com he was thrilled with excitement. The tickets posted up on our cork board for the weeks leading up to the trip were a daily reminder for him of all that he would see at the ball park in Seattle. Cyril is in love with baseball. He follows players and knows ridiculous statistics about home run heroes and pitching no-hitters. It all seems like wasted knowledge to me and I am lucky if I can remember all of the Mariners players names after just seeing them(twice) last weekend.
For Cyril, baseball is more than just a game to sit back and watch. It is about ERA statistics, strikeouts, RBI's and player history and who is going to rise to the occasion. It is about who deserves to start pitching and who will follow when the shoulder girdle can't bring the heat. It is about the potential of witnessing a cycle by Ichiro Suzuki only to watch him take a walk on his 4th time up to the plate. There was so much to see at the game but I think seeing my husband in his glory was the ultimate.



The first game we saw was an evening game on the Saturday we were there and there was a tribute to all the American military. It was cool and rainy so the retractable roof was closed, though the stadium still seemed huge! It was amazing to see such pride for all of the men and women there and at one point they asked everyone in the crowd to stand if they are serving or have served in the military/ navel force/ army, etc. and I was floored how many people stood up. And the support that they received that night must have felt so good to them. I think that patriotism is something that we Canadians take for granted or it is something that gets forgotten about(unless of course we are presently hosting the Olympics). Sadly they don't really sing their anthem aloud... I really wanted to belt it out but Cyril recommended I just don't. I sang quietly instead.... I like the tune, what can I say.



Someone said that we should try garlic fries at the game so of course we did.... so good and why didn't I ever think of sprinkling fried minced garlic on my fries? We shelled peanuts and stayed alert, we sat in prime foul ball territory, 12th row behind first base line. Cyril had a permanent grin the entire time and just couldn't believe it was happening before his eyes. We drank a ton and took pictures galore. Mariners won!!! It was so much fun that before we left we bought tickets to the next days afternoon game... just hours prior to our romantic dinner and Norah Jones concert!!

*** I have to mention here that Jason Verlander said 'Good Morning' to me in our hotel elevator on Sunday morning. He is the pitcher for Detroit that we had seen start pitching at the evening game the day prior. Let's just say he was fine. (This is where Cyril would spit out how much he makes each year and this would justify the tailored suit with his initials embroidered into the cuffs of shirt!). Like I said...he was fine. ***



The Sunday matinee was a completely different experience. It was sunny and hot so the roof was open and we had identical seats but behind the 3rd base line instead of the first. It was 'KIDS DAY' at the park and the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed. We took a far less amount of pictures and drank equal amounts of beer. The sun was so hot I burned that tops of my knees and forearms and my face was glowing pink. The Mariners ended up losing that game but we had so much fun cheering along with the tens of thousands of fans. It was awesome and Cyril loved every minute of it!!