the boys of summer

Totally wish I had some photos to share today, but, alas, none. Last night my sister and I went to the Twins/Yankee game - courtesy of my son Kyle. Thanks Kyle - we had a blast!! The Twins lost 8-2 - yikes! - but we were happy to be there.

I'm not a huge baseball fan - more like a fair-weather fan. When I was 10 or 11, I followed baseball while doing chores around the house. The Yankees were my team - I loved Roger Maris. This was probably about the time of the Mantle-Maris homerun marathon, which probably explains my interest in the game and my interest in the Yankees specifically. A classmate's nickname was Whitey, and I was certain it was because his favorite Yankee was Whitey Ford. Turned out it was because he didn't tan easily in the summer - what a disappointment! We lived about 3 hours from the Cities, so it was a big deal to go to a game there, but I remember going to at least one game at the old stadium in Bloomington (now the site of the Mall of America).

In '87, the Twins won the World Series. Mark and I were at game 7 to see them win - what a high! We had a friend who pitched part of that year for the Twins before being traded to the Cubs, and so we followed the Twins all of that summer. What a thrilling year - and then to actually be at the World Series - Game 7 - WOW! It felt like we knew all the great players on that team personally.

They won again in '91 and at the end of the regular season and through play-offs and the Series, we were once again great fans. Again, the players seemed like people we knew. Didn't manage tickets for the Series, but sat glued to the TV while it was being played.

Since then, sad to say, we have only caught the occasional game, been excited about the Twins making it to the play-offs, but not "into" the game itself. When Kyle dropped off his season tickets for last night's game, I was thrilled. I don't think I had ever seen the Yankees in person. They were fabulous - way better last night than I wanted them to be!!!!

Mark had to make a trip to California, so my sister, Mary, went with me to the game. We met at the Mall of America after she finished work and took the Light Rail in to the Dome (my first LRT ride - very nice). We were in the "cheap seats" - third base line - first row of the upper deck. We had a group of guys in their late teens sitting by us - they provided the spark and fun that the Twins were missing last night. It was fun. Kyle and his girlfriend, Leah (hope I'm spelling that right), came up and chatted with us during the 7th inning. (They had purchased better seats for this game, which is why I had Kyle's season ticket seats.) First time I had met Leah, so that was wonderful. All in all, a very fun night.

Mary - thanks for going with me. Hope we get to do it again sometime. (I'll start bugging Kyle for tickets right away!!!)