Benjamin slept for a good portion of the drive up and when we arrived we headed straight to Koppe Bridge to grab some burgers before the game. I was a little surprised to see that they didn't have a burger on their kid's menu so we went ahead and got Benjamin a regular $7 burger.
Within 20 seconds of him having his hands on his burger he was left with just bun. The patty seen above slipped right out and went kaput on the floor. I think there was a puff of dust that rose from it's landing. Even I deemed the 5 second rule a no-play on that one.
We parked and walked to the stadium and he seemed genuinely excited. When we turned the corner from the REC center, he asked if the stadium in front of him was Kyle Field, which I was able to point to and correct.
I was a little surprised at the line for tickets but I noticed a ticket guy (someone from the A&M athletic department) standing off to the side with a stack of tickets and it turned out he was selling general admission tickets for people with cash. We swooped in, got our tickets, and were inside the stadium before the first pitch.
Momma hustled to the little girl's room so Benjamin and I watched the top of the first inning from the concourse behind home plate and then at the half inning mark we went upstairs and found a row with a nice little stretch of empties that we could invade. His interest varied quite a bit and it seemed a good portion of his time he was more interested looking at the concrete behind his seat that the playing field.
He has been to 3 or 4 Astros games with me and we had not yet made it into the 5th inning but we managed to get him through the full 9 innings. I say "we" but that was mostly thanks to his Momma. She kept him entertained for the stretches when he lost interest and then in innings 7, 8, and 9 when he was squirming around like a worm.
It really wasn't a game that a non-baseball fan would have enjoyed. I think that the two teams had a combined 5 hits going into the 6th or 7th inning. The Ags broke it open in the 7th getting the bases loaded with no outs, then making two outs, and then scoring two runs on an error by the Fullerton first baseman.
Benjamin's favorite part was when we scored and everyone started to bang on the bleachers....he LOVED that. Interestingly enough, that is one of my favorite Olsen Field traditions as well. He also took to yelling "GIG'EM AGGIES!" over and over and over and over and over again. I felt sorry for the guy in front of us....but then again, you can't criticize someone being Red Ass.
The other highlight was that I can tell him about was that he saw John Stilson pitch. The All-American came in out of the bullpen in the 9th inning to record the final two outs.
After the game we got back to the car to discover that good old PTTS (Parking, Traffic, and Transportation Services) is still operational and apparently the lot that I parked in for years for baseball games now requires a parking pass....during spring break. We'll see if that ticket ever gets paid.
Overall it was a really good experience. I spent SOOOO many afternoon and evenings at Olsen Field during school that I was really looking forward to taking him. I'm sure he won't remember any of it but, to be honest, it was as much for me as it was for him. I think that as a parent you are desperate to share your favorite things with your children to see if you can get them interested too. He may not remember the game, or even enjoyed the game, but there is no doubt that he enjoyed the experience seeing and exploring a new and exciting place.
No comments:
Post a Comment