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MLB ROAD TRIP 2003
2003.04.24 <VOL.7> Days 22-26
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Location: Cincinnati
Day # 26
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St. Louis Surprise
Those of you who know me know that baseball and hockey are the sports that I follow most closely. April is my favourite time of year as the baseball season is starting while the NHL playoffs are getting underway. I had hoped to see some NHL playoff action, but my schedule and the NHL schedule didn't seem to match well. I had looked at all the Eastern Conference teams such as Toronto and New York, but I wouldn't be close enough to any of those cities when the games were played. I had ignored all the Western Conference games, because I thought that I would be too far away.
On Saturday night, after watching a game in Jackson, TN, I checked the NHL schedule and noticed that the Vancouver Canucks (one of my favourite NHL teams!) would be visiting St. Louis the next day for game 6 of their first-round series."If only St. Louis was close enough", I said to myself. You see, I thought St. Louis was about 8 hours away from Jackson and Memphis, where I was headed on Sunday. Of course, I had a map with me, and quickly checked it to confirm my thinking. But I was surprised - the two cities seemed quite close, connected by I-55. So I logged on to the internet and checked the driving distance and time - only 4 hours!!!!! I then checked the St. Louis Blues webpage for tickets - and plenty were available! I then ran around my room, doing cartwheels and screaming in excitement - I would be St. Louis watching the Canucks!!!!! I couldn't believe that I didn't see this possibility weeks ago, but thankfully I had noticed it in time.
The hockey game started at 6:00, so I checked the St. Louis Cardinals schedule to see if they might have a day game - and sure enough, they were at 1:10. Instead of watching minor league baseball in Memphis, I would be watching their parent club in St. Louis, as well as an NHL playoff game. The trip was getting better by the minute.
I left Jackson around 9:30 the next morning and made my way north. I got into St. Louis around 1:30, a little late for the game, but quickly found a parking spot about 3 minutes from Busch Stadium. I ran over, found a guy selling a good seat for a good price, and bought it from him. I got into the game in the 3rd inning with the score still 0-0. The seat was in the lower level, but down the third base line. I used my binoculars to scope out some great seats that were unoccupied and planned to move over between innings. But then the action on the field exploded.
After being hit by a pitch, Tino Martinez had been forced at second base. On his way back to the dugout, he exchanged words with Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista and suddenly Martinez ran at Batista, fists flailing. Batista tried to throw the ball at Martinez, fortunately missing, but we had a full-scale brawl on our hands. Both dugouts emptied and of course, the fans loved it. I watched the festivities, but realized that with everyone's attention focused on the field, I could make my move to the good seats. So I scooted over to the section behind the plate and walked down to the 7th row. No one even noticed me, so I sat down and began snapping pictures. I spent the rest of the game (won 1-0 by Arizona) in these great seats, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and a great pitching effort by the Arizona bullpen (Batista had been ejected after the brawl). I couldn't believe that I was actually here, but the day was to get even better.
When the game ended, I made my way over to the Savvis Center, home of the St. Louis Blues, just a few minutes away. What a contrast, at least in colour. At the Cardinal game, nearly every fan was wearing something red to support their Cardinals. But at the Blues game, nearly every fan was sporting a Blues jersey or cap. It was like I had gone from a sea of red into a sea of blue.
Anyway, being alone, it was easy to get a ticket from the Box Office - 6th row in the upper deck. Yes!!! Playoff hockey! Now, the Canucks were down 3 games to 2, so if they lost this game, their season would be over. But I had a good feeling about them - I knew that the sporting gods had sent me to St. Louis to give the Canucks some of my luck.
Unfortunately, I didn't have any Canucks paraphernalia on me so I couldn't visibly support them. But I did meet some other Vancouver fans, including a guy from Nebraska, which amazed me. Talk about your lonely fans. I also met a couple of kids (about 10 years old) wearing Canucks jerseys. I asked them if they were from Vancouver and they said yes. As it turns out, one of their fathers knows one of the Canucks and got his tickets for free. So they had flown from Vancouver that morning and were flying back the next day. Shortly, their fathers had joined them and we chatted about the Canucks. We were all standing by the Canucks bench, waiting for the players to begin their warm-up, when four 20-something Blues fans took their seats, 2 rows from the ice. The guys from Vancouver offered to trade seats, and the ensuing conversation was rather interesting. The offer increased to $50 each plus the seat trade, but the Blues fans could not be swayed. One of the Blues fans, a rather obnoxious guy, kept saying that they wanted to sit by the Canucks bench so they could heckle the players who were, in his words "going down". He continued to repeat this ad nauseum "The Canucks are going down, baby, going dowwwnnnn!". Schmuck. Did he not know that the sporting gods frowned on such boasts?
Anyway, when the Canucks came out to warm up, we cheered loudly and watched them, while the Blues fans around us jeered. One fan heckled Todd Bertuzzi using some foul language. Bertuzzi surprisingly replied, using similar language, and the fan, feeling validated, proceeded to scream even louder, using even fouler language. Someone complained, and the fan was quickly escorted away. I don't know if he was ejected from the arena, but at least the Blues staff got him out of there.
Then it was game time. I took my seat, but no one knew that I was the enemy. But Vancouver scored early, and I leapt to my feet, cheering and clapping. Surprisingly, nobody screamed at me. St. Louis tied it, but the Vancouver scored again and I cheered. In the second period, they added two more goals to make it 4-1 and suddenly the St. Louis faithful were very quiet. Except of course, for those around me. I was now the object of scorn (hee-hee) as fans told me to "Sit Down", "Go back to Canada", "Canada Sucks", etc. I just smiled. The sporting gods are quick to anger, and I didn't want to offend them with any premature gloating.
In the third period, St. Louis scored two goals and the score was 4-3. I spent the last 10 minutes of the game on the edge of my seat, as St. Louis came close to tying it, but in the end, the Canucks prevailed to tie the series at 3 and force a 7th game back in Vancouver. Some fans were screaming at me and throwing things at me, but I just told them that "There's still one more to play". I escaped unscathed and enjoyed a 4-hour drive back to Memphis, smiling the whole way.
P.S. Vancouver won game 7 to advance to the next round! Go Canucks!
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Memphis
The next day I was in Memphis. It was obviously anti-climatic after St. Louis Sunday, but I would like to say that Memphis is a nice place and worth visiting. Of course, there is Graceland, home of Elvis Presley, which is interesting. Beale Street is home of the Blues (the music, not the hockey team in St. Louis!), but it wasn't so lively on a Monday afternoon. There is also the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. It has been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum, which contains a very detailed look at the battles that had to be fought in order for African-Americans to gain equality in America. One of the better museums I have seen.
The ballpark in Memphis is one of the best around as well, and I enjoyed a great game as Colorado Springs beat Memphis 9-8. Ex-major leaguer Greg Vaughn cranked 2 dingers, so expect him to be back in the majors soon.
Yasu, the bus-riding, ballpark-touring, Japanese guy joined me as well, and we chatted about his various experiences at the southern ballparks. It was a nice evening, and I must say, it was certainly nice to be able to sit and relax without having to duck peanuts being hurled my way.
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Nashville Nuisances
I stopped in Nashville on my way to Louisville and saw one more game - an afternoon tilt that started at 12 noon. There were 7,500 fans in attendance, of which about 7,400 were kids on school trips. When I was a kid, we did not go to sporting events on our field trips; we went to boring museums. I guess things have changed. It was a lot of fun as the crowd was one of the loudest I have heard, screaming throughout the game. Of course, most of the kids weren't watching the game, they were busy buying food (it would have taken you about 30 minutes to get a hot dog, if you wanted one) and chasing each other around the ballpark. But it was a nice change from the more sedate crowds that usually watch minor league games.
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SARS Gets Serious
Next week I will return to Toronto, but I am beginning to wonder if it is worth it due to the continuing SARS crisis. As most of you know, Toronto is the worst-hit city outside of Asia, with about 16 deaths in the last month. Major League Baseball is warning players to avoid public transportation and crowds (huh, isn't a major league game watched by a crowd?). Realistically, SARS is not that much of a risk and precautions can be taken, but after hearing that one patient, who had been asked to quarantine herself, had instead rode on a commuter train, you wonder if it will ever be contained.
Of course, I don't expect any problems, and I already have my tickets, so I will likely watch the games. But I will sit by myself in the top row of the farthest section from home plate, with a surgical mask and gloves - just in case.
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Other Comments
I have only 10 days left on the trip. I am currently in Newport, KY, across the river from Cincinnati. I can see the new Great American Ballpark from my window, and will be heading over there shortly to watch the Dodgers and the Reds.
I have made a few more schedule changes due to the hockey playoffs in both the NHL and the ECHL (I will see the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies again!) as well as the NBA playoffs, but I will stay true to the goal of at least one sporting event per day. I expect to send another 2 or 3 updates, including one that describes the best and worst on the trip, so I hope you are looking forward to that.
See you next time,
Sean
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