First Times

The first time you try something new can be tricky sometimes.  The best advice I can give you is to do some research beforehand and buddy up with someone who is more knowledgeable about the subject than you are.  Tonight was my first time and it wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be - it was actually pretty fun =)

It's hard to believe I grew up in Vancouver and have never been to a Vancouver Canadians baseball game.  Baseball's never really been a sport I was interested in unless you count being enthralled by the Toronto Blue Jays back to back World Series Championships.  Other than that, I always felt that the games took too long and weren't all that exciting.  Tonight, I put that all aside to watch my first live game.

I had been hoping to bring a bunch of friends, but eventually everyone bailed (or failed to respond) and it ended up being just me and Brad which was lucky since he's actually played ball and is easily amused by my lack of knowledge.  Here are a few things I learned early on in the game:

1. Anything at or above a 30% hit rate is pretty good (we saw ranges between 11-32% tonight)
2. Never come to a game alone unless you're a die hard fan cause you need someone to talk to
3. Sit along the 3rd base line, not the 1st, because the sun sets behind the 1st baseline
4. People will still try to catch the ball even if they're sitting in fenced off seats
5. Only sit in open (unfenced) seats if you or the people you are with are comfortable with catching balls with their hands, not your face =p

All in all it was a pretty good night.  Highlights included:

• An in-stadium home run caused when the centre fielder of the Everett Aquasox ran into the wall trying to catch the ball (he eventually shook it off to continue playing but I thought it was kind of embarrassing)
• A 70 year old regular (even the beer guy knew his name!) got into it with another fan who spent a fair part of the game heckling the players.  Eventually it got into name calling, with the old guy calling the other guy ugly, and then moved into fight potential when the old guy said his son would kick this dude's ass.
• The 7th inning stretch tradition



Ms. BC Roll, Kappa Maki, and
Chef Wasabi!

• The sushi mascot race (tip for 'Chef Wasabi' maybe focus on actually running the race instead of doing random rolls, then you might actually break your 27 race losing streak) and the fact they have 4 different mascots (a bear and the three sushi ones)
• Random Footloose routine performed during the game by some of the ground crew
• Finishing in 2.5 hours

Would I go again?  Probably next summer since the season is almost over, but at least it's another thing checked off my summer list =)