Author: aetchells

Checking Out Nationals Park

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Headed down to DC yesterday afternoon with Gabe from the Omelette and a few of the guys from the Kingdom. The traffic was surprisingly smooth. We got there and rolled in. The stadium just opened this year, so they still have a few kinks to work out. Parking is still kind of a crapshoot, and plenty expensive. Cheapest lots we found were $25. Rolled into a Permit Parking Lot only, where the girl told us, she’s let us park there for $20 “on the DL”. Why can’t I go anywhere without being sketchy? Anyways, we walked up got tickets. They say the stadium has been pretty empty this year, and one reason is the tickets. The tickets down in the lower level are waaaaay more expensive than they are in Philly. For example, tickets right above the dugout in Philly are $50. In DC, they are $75. Lower level outfield in Philly is $24. In DC, it’s $35.

As for the ballpark itself, the first thing I thought of when I walked in was, “I feel like I’m in a video game ballpark.” Hard to explain, but everyone agreed with me. Everything was sort of harshly angled, the scoreboard was so huge it was borderline silly, and there were areas that didn’t really make any sense (A section right behind the center field wall that I think was, no kidding, a sandy hill spray painted green to look like it had grass on it, like they ran out of money before they could lay the last of the sod.)
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The concourses were extremely dull. Both the walkways and the floor were sort of tannish white color. The food choices were ok, and there didn’t seem to be much of an effort to support local institutions, either beer wise or food wise. The stadium was a very fair representation of this team: generic and somewhat uninteresting. And the field will torture the Phillies for years to come, as it is not a home run hitters ballpark. The Phils had three or four hits last night that would have been gone at CBP, but were routine pop flies at Nationals Park.
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By far the highlight of the night was the president race, when the four guys with huge heads raced around the track. Apparently Teddy Roosevelt has never won, and on this night his streak continued, as he finished a distant third. Teddy really looks lost out there, but I still bet he could beat Ryan Howard in a footrace.

Anyways, the best part of the (terrible) game was how eerie the first four innings were for the Phillies:
1st Inning: Rollins out, Victorino singles, Utley singles, Howard out, Burrell out
2nd Inning: Jenkins double, Feliz out (fails to advance the runner), Ruiz out but advances runner, Myers out
3rd Inning: Rollins out, Victorino singles, Utley singles, Howard out, Burrell out
4th Inning: Jenkins double, Feliz out (fails to advance the runner), Ruiz out but advances runner, Myers out

Weird. Anyways, it turned out to be quite possibly the worst Phillies game I have ever seen, as the listless Phightins’ went down 4-0, despite a crowd that was probably abotu 50% pro-Phillies. But a bad day at the ballpark still beats a good day workin’.

Heading to DC to Help the Phillies

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After losing two of three to the Blue Jays, it was obvious that the Phils needed my help (They are 5-0 in games I have attended this year, and 19-21 in games I don’t attend). So I am heading down to DC to cheer them on against the Nationals. First time checking out the new stadium in DC. I’ll let you know how it is. In the meantime, here’s a short writeup I did about the Italian Market Festival on Kerri Lee’s blog.

Headless Fun Facts

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  • The guillotine was invented because it was supposedly the most humane way to kill people. However, there are many people who believe that the mind stays alive for about about 30 seconds after it leaves the body, and that during the French Revolution, people would tell their friends that they would blink after their head came off if they were still conscious, and then did so. They can’t talk, of course, because they have no vocal cords.
  • A doctor in Cleveland (typical) performed a head transplant on a monkey a few years ago, and wants to do the same to humans. He is going to start by trading my head with George Clooneys. Now I bet you’re sorry you blew me off this weekend, girl!
  • Speaking of chicks, have you heard the story of Mike the Headless Chicken? If not, it is well worth reading. A guy cut a chicken’s head off but the chicken lived for another year and a half. And the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival was just this past weekend! It was probably fun, but I doubt it was an Intercourse Rhubarb Festival Bake off Extravaganza (photos and story coming manana.)