Maura at Fenway

On Monday June 25th I took Maura to see the Boston Red Sox play the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Even though the Sox lost the game we had a great time rooting for them. We had field box seats near third base with a great view of the action. The tickets were courtesy of Jennifer who had them as a perk from her job. We could never afford to buy tickets for seats that good.

It was Maua’s first time going to a game at Fenway and she was excited about it. We rode the T to the park in our Red Sox colors and found our seats about a half-hour before the game started. From the start it was fun to be there. We listened to the music on the PA and watched Wally the Green Monster rev up the crowd. We stood with our hats off for the singing of “O Canada!” and “The Star Spangled Banner” and applauded the people who were honored at the game including one young man who had given away not one but two trips to Disney World to the families of soldiers who had been killed in Afghanistan. I’m proud to say that the applause the crowd gave him was more than polite. He got a standing ovation which was what he certainly deserved for his actions.

Once the game started Maura and I watched it. We’re not huge baseball fans and I don’t pay that much attention to it most of the time (Maura pays even less) but I’ve always thought baseball was a sport best experienced live. You can see the whole field and there is a sense of scale. The crowd and the roving refreshment venders fill the empty moments in the game in a way TV color commentators never can. Maura and I enjoyed an ice cream from one of the venders during the 5th inning. I think it was the highlight of the night for Maura but she clearly was enjoying the whole experience. I certainly enjoyed it both when I was watching the game and when I was watching Maura. The only thing that detracted from the game for me was the occasionally rude fans sitting behind us. I wish they would have watched their language since there were kids present. One thing they did that didn’t bother me was the ribbing they gave the guy wearing the Yankees cap—he took it well since he was their friend and had come to the game with them.

Though the Sox lost they gave us a good game to watch, at least after the top of the first when they gave up four runs to start the game. They fought back to tie things up 5 to 5 before they lost it again in the 6th inning. We left the game when a thunder storm hit in the 7th inning and the game was rain delayed. It was already a late night for Maura and we had big plans for the next day so she needed her sleep. WE would have stayed to the end if it looked like the game would be over on time but with a rain delay it seemed likely to go very late. When we left Toronto was up by two and when I checked the score in the morning I saw that the Sox were unable to make a comeback. That was a shame but there are always other games and perhaps we will someday have the chance to see the Sox win in Fenway.