a football night at the yard.

tonight, i spent the night at the yard. but this wasn't just any night. this was the night. tonight was the first time in my lifetime, that i was able to express my two biggest passions at the same place, at the same time no less. it was a special night. the orioles and the ravens teamed up to offer what could be the hottest promotion this town's ever seen . . . . they offered (through ticketmaster) a buy one-get one ticket deal . . . . allowing any fans that bought tickets to the annual spring football festival admission to the baseball game. and as if it couldn't get better than that... the stadium giveaway was an orioles/ravens rally cap! seriously. an orioles ravens rally cap. this cap is officially sanctioned. it's got a purple brim, a purple panel front, and a masn logo on the rear, complete with the official "O's" logo on the front. sound good? well it gets better... it's even a flexifit! yes. this hat is a giveaway. by far the nicest one i've ever seen.well . . . . before i get too carried away on the outstanding quality of the hat . . . . let us remember that there was a baseball game to be played! we got there kind of late, after all this was the day of war on the shore, a must for any washington college student. after seeing our shoremen struggle against salisbury's sea gulls 8-4 at halftime, we made the mad dash from chestertown to charm city. unfortunately, that made us miss the football festival. it's a shame, because as hard as it is to believe, this is the twelfth annual spring football festival . . . . the twelfth one that i've missed. but it's okay. i imagine i'll finally make it to one someday.
we got there just in time to be there as they opened the gate. and wouldn't ya know it, we were part of the first 10,000 fans! we got our hats!!! as we were walking throughout the field level concourse, i noticed that our tickets were for the club level. can you believe it? twenty dollars . . . . for a ticket to the festival . . . . and a complimentary club level ticket to the orioles game. unbelievable. how sweet it is! we had a nice relaxed lunch in the air-conditioned dining room, and lightly strolled to our seats, reminiscing at each consecutive orioles team photo positioned on the wall.

upon entering the seating bowl, we saw the oriole bird sporting a ravens jersey down on the field, doing his thing . . . . playing a suspect wiffle ball game with a lucky spectator child. the kid was having just as much fun as the mascot was. it was truly a sight to behold. the ravens marching band was on hand to play the national anthem, after a rousing rendition of the ravens fight song of course. and in a real classy move, they brought out baltimore's own fullback, leron mcclain to throw out the first pitch. mind you . . . . this was a team that didn't even have anyone (ANYONE!) from the ravens throw out the first pitch, the year after they won the super bowl . . . . the city's first major sports championship since 1983.

the game was certainly not a pitching delight (imagine that...), and the orioles quickly fell behind 5-0, surrendering at least one run in each of the first three innings. it was actually pretty funny. the ballpark was full of football fans. and what does that mean? booing. yes of course! they booed starting pitcher mark hendrickson like he was kyle boller after throwing a game-breaking interception. it was actually quite hilarious. that was by far the most impatient crowd that i've been a part of in a long time. and was it refreshing? you bet it was! i'm not a fan of players always getting an earfull (that can be quite disheartening for young guys), but i am a fan of fans taking interest. when that happens, the ballpark starts to become a much better place, and the team starts to become a lot more fun to watch.
much to the dismay of those in attendance, the orioles fell to the mighty rangers of texas, 6-5. not to say that the rangers are anything special, but they sure as hell have given the orioles a handfull in the past. anyone remember this? AND THIS?! mmhmm yeah . . . . we've had some rough times. but despite the loss, it was a special night. they kept the crowd posted on the ravens' picks at the nfl draft. we all gazed at the jumbotron and learned such names as michael oher and paul kruger. will they be household names in the years to come? we can only hope! until then, we'll wait for training camp.

until next time,

we've passed midnight.