Joel with former Twins assistant coach (now with Fort Worth) Wayne Terwilliger.
The ump giving a feeding to the Saint's piglet.
The view from our seats--just 5 rows behind home plate!
Team mascot "Mudonna"
Joel planting one on Mudonna
I am still a Twins' fan (although lack of blogging doesn't necessarily indicate that)--but since the Twins were out of town this weekend, I surprised Joel on Friday's Date Night with tickets to a St. Paul Saints game. We have never gone to a Saints game, although we've talked about it several times.
The idea to go watch the Saints popped into my head Friday morning. I was searching for something fun to do in town for the long weekend. I wanted to enjoy the nice weather outside and with that thought catching a Saints game came in to mind.
I had no idea, however, if there would be any decent tickets available. I jumped online and went to the Saints website. I was in luck! There were plenty of seats--including 2 seats right behind home plate (5 rows up). I snatched those up in a heartbeat.
I didn't give Joel a clue until I got home later in the afternoon. I think he was pleasantly surprised. We got dressed and ready for a night of fun!
It was a lovely night for outdoor baseball (although it did get quite chilly--I was happy I brought along socks). The seats we got normally belong to a season ticket holder, who obviously had "returned" the tickets for a credit. Pretty much everyone around us were season ticket holders that knew one another by name.
I think Major League baseball could take a few lessons in fun from teams like the Saints--that is if Bud Selig could ever get the stick out of his you-know-what. There are fun antics played out on the field and stands between every inning. Fun music is played throughout. Each year the Saints adopt a little piglet (that grows into a not-so-little piglet by season's end) and piglet is trotted out on the field and even receives a feeding from the homeplate ump. For the 7th inning stretch, bags of peanuts are tossed into the stands. And controversial calls are even replayed on the teams "jumbotron"...MLB won't do that, lest the fans boo the umps. Don't you want the fans to get into the game?
The Saints lost, but it was fun nonetheless. And until 2010 we'll be catching some outdoor baseball by going to the Saints.
(I will add that I was thrilled to hear following the Saints' game about the Twins win...but what happened Saturday? OUCH!!! Today was much sweeter, with a win for Perkins and a grand slam by Kubel--a pretty sweet way to celebrate your 26th birthday! Happy Birthday Jason! The important thing is we took 2 out of 3 games and we remain in 2nd place!)
1 comment:
Risa, Denny and I went to OUR first Saints games Saturday night and we had such fun! Even though they lost, it was a great evening out and we enjoyed all the activites going on during the baseball game. We definitely will go back again. Before the game, we had dinner at Gabe's. They have a free shuttle to the game. It was a great evening!
Post a Comment