DREAMS DO COME TRUE

Or…  

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!

If you live long enough and have the time, some dreams do come true.

As a baseball fan, I always like to see the game live, and often as a kid wondered what it would be like to view the Mets in an enemy stadium. It has come to fruition over the years!

Once while in Los Angeles on a visit, #1 Son got tickets for a Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium against the Mets! Well, half the fans must have been displaced New Yorkers, because there were a lot of them there that night! But there was Mike Piazza as the enemy! I was rooting for the enemy!

David Wright

Then recently again because of #1 Son, I got to go to Chicago to see the Mets play in Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, a great storied organization filled with tradition. David Wright was the enemy, and so was I! How much fun is that? Yet the fans of Chicago were very gracious, and empathetic with us because the Cubs are losers too.

Citizen's Bank Park

Then this past week, although the Mets weren’t playing: I got to see Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. Seeing the red ‘P’ culture icons of the Phillies was interesting and the food court that surrounds the place is incredible! The fans are somewhat crude in spots but overall just plain annoying.

I once was in Boston’s Fenway Park to root on the Red Sox against the “Evil Empire” the New York Yankees, and it finally hit me, it’s a great thing to do! I got to root against the Yankees, sympathize with a great fan base that is very loyal, and I caught the atmosphere of the old Ebbets Field and Brooklyn Dodgers I loved so much. The Red Sox even have the ‘B’ on their caps!

And so, #1 Son and I are going somewhere next year, be it San Francisco, St. Louis or Pittsburg to see another ballpark and enjoy the traditions that there are out there that other teams have.

To all my Yankee friends, I am sorry I hate the Yankees, and believe me, I have tried many times to root for them, but it never lasted beyond the first pitch of the game.