21 April 2009

I HATE THE WAVE! (Jim)

Or, "I paid good money to watch the Rangers play and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."


Sarah and I got to do one of our favorite things on Saturday...catch our beloved Texas Rangers in action at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (RBiA). We took advantage of a special promotion the Rangers had and were able to get two decent tickets and a parking pass for $25. Speaking of special promotions and good deals, if you are a baseball fan I highly recommend you check out this and see just how little money you can spend to go to a Major League Baseball game. Anyway, we drove down to Arlington with enough time to eat at a "Macaroni Grill." Notice the quotation marks and listen to this cautionary tale:


As you probably know, Sarah has an iPhone which is near and dear to her heart. Most of the time, it is a great little device. However, we used it to give us the location of Arlington (TX) Macaroni Grills and, whaddya know, there is one RIGHT ACROSS FROM RBiA! AWESOME! We drove down there, followed directions and started to worry:


(Me) "Turn right here, babe."


(Sarah) "Are you sure? This looks like a one-way street."


(Me) "I'm sure, this is where the Macaroni Grill is supposed to be located."


(Sarah) "I don't think this is a Macaroni Grill."


(Me) "No, but it sure does look like a good place to get shot."


Turns out that iPhoney had taken us to an empty parking lot with overgrown weeds and rusty construction equipment. There very well may have been a Macaroni Grill there in 1987 but there wasn't one there now. We ended up eating appetizers at On The Border--a decent enough restaurant but one we have in Wichita Falls.


No worries though, on to the ballpark! Here are the high (and low)lights:


  • First really good pitching performance I've seen in-person at RBiA...a true pitcher's duel and I actually got to give a standing O for a Rangers starting pitcher (Kevin Millwood, 9 IP, 2 ER) as he walked off the field before the bottom half of the 9th inning. (Highlight)

  • Surrounded by friendly and fun fans in our seats (all total strangers). (Highlight)

  • Sarah got to eat a Lemon Chill. (Highlight)

  • That Lemon Chill was $4.75. (Lowlight)

  • It was the first game all year the Rangers hadn't hit a home run and the thing Sarah had most been looking forward to was hearing "the music" and seeing the fireworks when a Rangers hitter hits a home run (FYI it's the theme from The Natural). (Lowlight)

  • Josh Hamilton's inability to hit a baseball this season. (Lowlight)

  • Seeing Ian Kinsler steal a base in person. (Highlight)

  • In the 7th inning, the fans in the centerfield bleachers started the wave. (See below)

I HATE THE WAVE! It's obnoxious, it obstructs my view of the actual reason I am attending the BASEBALL GAME, and it shows a distinct lack of fan awareness. Millwood was pitching in the bottom of the 7th (I think) and trying to keep the game close. He twice had full counts that inning and were we (the fans) standing up and making noise and cheering him on? Of course not, we were too busy worrying about doing the FREAKING WAVE. Not only that, but this was the wave that would not die. I think the thing made it around the stadium intact 5 or 6 times! The people in front of me were laughing because I was getting so angry.


Even though the Rangers lost and I had to sit through TWTWD (bonus points if you get this initialism), we had a blast! The weather was gorgeous and we were watching our favorite baseball team play in front of our eyes.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Jim, have we discussed this before? I HATE the wave too. I have never participated. If I'm with someone who participates, I hang my head in shame.

TWTWD - no clue.

Jim Johnson said...

I'm not sure if we've discussed it before but I'm glad you agree. Sarah raised her hands the first time but didn't stand up. I simply stared at the field and grumbled!

jaslinscott said...

I'm glad that I won't ever be a Rangers fan, so much disappointment right there, atleast my team can bring the world series to texas.

You should come visit and we'll take you to some good places to eat. Macaroni Grill ain't nuffin.