Born Leader, Chosen Follower: Astros and Phillies and Nats, Oh My!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Astros and Phillies and Nats, Oh My!

With the baseball playoffs just around the corner and teams competing for one of the wildcards and league championships, it's time that I write about PDub and my adventures visiting ballparks around the country. Of course, the only time we would choose to enter into a ballpark is when the Cardinals are playing. Over the past year we have watched the Cardinals play the Astros in Minute Maid Park, the Phillies in Citizen's Bank Park, and the Nationals in Nationals Park. All of these parks have given us different perspectives on the stadium, fans, and ball club.
Minute Maid Park, where the Astros play, is located in downtown Houston and has a retractable roof, which is closed when there is a potential for bad weather. Their mascot is named Junction Jack, but if I had a say, they should change it to an astroid. Unlike Busch Stadium where the crowd is a sea of red, the Astros fans tend to wear what they had on that day with no regard for their team, so really we have more of a potpourri of color. When a home-run is hit by the home team, a train filled with large oranges (that look like pumpkins to me) chugs its way across left field. The best part about this park is the seventh inning stretch. As usual, everyone gets on their feet to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," but bonus, you also get to sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas." So warm-up those voice boxes because the seventh inning is sure to bring you musical joy. There's nothing like seeing the cheerleaders on top of the dugouts wearing cowboy boots during this time. Texas pride and cowboy boots....Something I actually miss!

Minute Maid Park with the train in left field.

The Astros mascot, Junction Jack.

Citizen's Bank Park, where the Phillies play, is located just outside the city of Philadelphia, and without a retractable roof, you are sure to sit in the rain in bad weather....which we did. On a few occasions throughout my childhood, I witnessed the rude and sometimes mean Phillies fans on television. My father informed me that Philadelphia fans were known for this. Therefore, I was a little afraid to step foot into Citizen's Bank Park fully clothed in my Cardinals gear, but I soon found that the majority of Phillies fans just enjoy booing and not necessarily starting a fight. PDub and I were booed on several occasions, but it was more in fun than in all seriousness. How could you not love us? Their mascot I found to be called the Phillie Phanatic, and I am still unsure as to what this character may be.

This picture reminds me of the individuals sitting behind us who began to boo.

Phillie Phanatic

You can't go to a Phillies game without seeing the cops and an individual using her middle finger. It's kind of a must.

They start training their fans at a young age.

Nationals Park, where the Nationals play (dur), is located near Navy Yard in Washington D.C. This stadium has no retractable roof, so once again, we got to sit in the rain. I guess we were just bad luck for weather on game day. Anyway, the fans at this park were a little less enthusiastic than the Phillies fans where booing was minimal, but there was a sea of red Nationals shirts. The D.C. area is composed of so many people from other states that seeing fellow Cardinals fans was not unusual. At one point during the game, myself and my fellow Cardinals fans began chanting "Let's go Cardinals." Of course, this did cause some booing. The Nationals mascot is named Screech and happens to be a bald eagle. In addition to Screech, you will see prior presidents race around the stadium during the fourth inning. After their race, they make appearances in the crowd throughout the rest of the game. This is probably my favorite part, and I look forward to spending some quality time with my presidents next season.