Despite the cold, which prevented her from having her favorite ballpark snack (ice cream in a helmet - with sprinkles), Paige had a good time. I only wish I had gotten a picture or video of her reaction when she first spied the field. It immediately transported me back to my youth as I recalled walking through the Vet's round concrete cavern searching for our section. As we passed each entrance tunnel that led to the seats, I strained my neck to catch that first glimpse of astroturf that seemed a million times greener in person than on television.
My daughter was no different. I held her hand as we walked (okay I walked and she skipped) toward Harry the K's for a pre-game meal (and to catch some sun and avoid the wind). When it came into view, she pulled me to a stop and almost breathlessly declared, "Daddy... there's the field... it's so green..." If my mind hadn't done that Lost time-travel thing taking me back to the Vet in 1977, I probably would have cried. Whew - close call.
Also in attendance and enjoying the experience was my mom (not pictured). Yes, that's right. I chose to go to a Phillies game with three generations of crazy women. And it won't be the last time this season, so stay tuned.
Anyway, we hit Harry the K's for some good food and tasty adult beverages. Paige couldn't take her eyes off the field as the ground crew made it ready for play and the players warmed up. She was a hit, especially with our waitress, Kat (not pictured), who was fantastic and really made my daughter feel special. If you visit Harry the K's and are served by Kat, give her our best. I wanted to snap a pic to include here, but my wife frowned upon that. I also forgot to take a shot of our table, but trust me, it looked similar to when my brother and I went to Game 1 of the 2007 NLDS:
So after our meal, we made our way to our seats and didn't have to wait long for something to cheer about. As will become obvious at some point, I like Pat Burrell. I defend Pat Burrell because his numbers make it pretty easy to do. Not surprisingly, my wife likes Pat Burrell because he's hot. I am fine with that and, in fact, it is one of the reasons we chose the seats we did:
Given all the love for Pat in our house, Paige likes him too - although she likes a lot of the players and will give you a different answer every time you ask her who her favorite player is. So along the way, we taught her to say something when Pat is at the plate, but cautioned her to use it sparingly lest it lose its magic.
Naturally, when Pat came up in the bottom of the 1st with two runners on, I asked Paige, "What do we say when Pat is up?" to which she replied, "Come on Pat! Hit a tater!!" And on the second pitch of the at bat, he did. About 75 feet to our left.
There isn't much to report about the rest of the game, except perhaps for Paige's disappointment after the 2nd inning ended when a crowd of fans got up to visit the refreshment stands or the rest rooms. She looked at everybody walking up the steps and pouted, "Oh... Is it over already? I don't want to go yet..." We just smiled and reassured her that we didn't have to leave and would stay until she got too cold. While this made her happy, she was quite upset that no one hit a ball to her. After she brought her glove and everything. She is just too cute.
She was also disappointed she didn't get to see the Phanatic in person and I tried in vain to explain that she won't get to do that at every game. You see, fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), Paige actually got to meet the Phanatic at her first game (in 2006) and even gave him a high five. So while her favorite player may change, her favorite "Phillie" is, and always has been, the Phanatic. In the 8th inning when I told her he was probably done for the day because it was so cold, she agreed that we could leave.
As I waited for three generations of gals to use the ladies' room, Mike found me and we chatted briefly. To be honest, I don't remember what we talked about because it was even windier and colder where we were standing than where we had been sitting. It really doesn't matter though because my daughter had fun and Pat hit a tater. For a preseason game, that was all I needed.
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