For some reason, June has never been my favorite month. Can't really think of a good reason why. Just a decision I made when I was a kid. When I was a kid. The key word there is "was." My parents would benefit from understanding that. My goal is to keep their time with me this weekend as brief as possible. Anyway, let's look back at June. Plenty has happened, some good, some bad.
1) Blues on the Fox. I left work at 5 on Friday and drove down 59 to Aurora, which is about 45 minutes without traffic. This time, it took me an hour and ten minutes. The skies were very gray, but we were holding out hope that the rain would pass through and we could enjoy the music. No such luck. The festival was cancelled at 6:15 as was Naper Days and the Elgin Beerfest. So I drove to Real Time in a monsoon, in a Honda, in a rush, so I could watch the Mets. And it turned out well, they beat Tampa. Went home, packed, and got ready for my 6:30 flight the next morning.
2) I only made the flight to Newark because I dressed nice. That got me into first class, arrived right on time. After getting to Dad's place, we headed out to Citi Field. Skies were gray in New York too. One of my favorite parts of the new ballpark is they marked home plate, the pitcher's mound, and the other three bases in the parking lot. Thought of the guys who established the Mets franchise: Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Agee, Cleon, Kranepool. My heroes when I was just learning the game: Darryl, Doc, Keith, Gary, Coney. My guys as grew up and learned the game: My twin Piazza, Hundley, Fonzie, Benny, Leiter, Reed. The new era: Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Johan.
3) We stood outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and thankfully, Dad and I were able to shelter ourselves from the buckets of water that were falling from the dark gray sky. Nef showed up about an hour before game time and we headed in. We all walked around the field level concourse. It's amazing how much wider they are compared to Shea Stadium. The space behind center field is awesome. Shake Shack, Blue Smoque BBQ, Box Frites, Carrascino's pizza, Big Apple Brews, El Verano Taqueria, Kid's games, the dunk tank, the team store marketed specifically to kids. Nef and I kept going until we got to Fares of the City around right field. I walked through the glass doors and inside to my left was the sushi. This is not Seattle. Moving on, to my right was Mama's of Corona. I had to have my Mama's Special, which simply cannot be found in Chicago. Semolina bread stuffed with salami, peppered ham, and homemade mozzarella with side of marinated mushrooms and roasted red peppers. Incredible. Meanwhile, Dad was salivating over Shake Shack. Nef settled for tiramisu.
4) The tarp was already covering the infield when we arrived. Can they put a Mets logo on it? It's just plain white. God knows they can afford it. The game started basically on time and the less said the better. The Mets showed offense in exactly one inning, where they scored twice. There was also a 90-minute rain delay that we somehow chose to stick through. It was actually good there was a delay. Because when they game is delayed, the home run apple emerges in center field. And it was obvious that was the only way we were going to see it rise that day. Eventually, I made my way to the taqueria. I got a three taco combo platter with a steak, pork, and chicken taco and a local Brooklyn beer. Awesome stuff. And good job with the lime wedge for the tacos.
5) A few things I noticed. These are the complaints: It is sick how many suites are in this park. Sitting in the left field stands, we could not see the out-of-town scoreboard. And it bothers me that every weekend summer home game is priced in the Gold level. So during the time that it is most convenient for families to go to the ball park, that's the time that tickets are most expensive. And with 15,000 fewer seats than there were in Shea, that makes the situation even worse. That said, if you can get in, it is very fan friendly. Every seat is two inches wider than it was in Shea and they all have cupholders. Plenty of bathrooms, consessions and shops, great audio systems.
6) I missed the old Home Run apple and taking my picture with the big blue 42 in the background. And amongst all the bricks on the fanwalk in front of the park, I could not locate the Benigno brick.
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