the greatest words in the world

On Wednesday I decided not to go in to work so that I could, instead, go to Fenway Park and try to buy tickets to the Red Sox game. My friend picked me up at 10am, and we drove into the city and began our quest for tickets. After a bit of looking, and some lunch, we then got the BEST TICKETS EVER. We were sitting right behind home plate - it was awesome. I've been to a few red sox games in my day, not nearly as many as the friend who was with me on Wednesday - but a lot. It always amazes me how I never cease to be excited to be there. And then when the announcer comes on and says "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway park - America's most beloved ballpark!" - oh I love it!!

They played the Kansas City Royals, the second worst team in baseball. We met one of their fans at Stub Hub and she was hoping to see them get win number 32. (for those non baseball fans out there - each team has played about 96 baseball games so far...And Kansas hadn't won 32 of them yet!) It was a good game, Josh Beckett was pitching and Gabe Kapler was playing, and Doug Meintkiewicz was in town. We saw Ortiz bunt, and it was pretty. Manny hit a homerun and there were about 5 amazing catches in the outfield.

One of the things I love about following a baseball team is getting to know the players tendencies. Most people remember Nomar's glove thing, and maybe people know Ichiro's samurai stance before batting, - but there are so many others!! Big Papi who spits in his glove and slaps his hands together before each at bat, Manny taps his bat twice behind home plate, Gabe Kapler (#44) stands perfectly straight before walking into the batters box. I caught that one on film - although I'll admit maybe I was just trying to take a picture of his bum because he's cute!! Coco Crisp does something that I don't quite understand - between each swing he bends down and picks up some dirt, then he spits into his hand, and then he grips his bat. So basically each time he is making mud on his hands and then rubbing it on the bat. YUCK. And he doesn't use batting gloves.

Lastly, we got to see Papelbon pitch - and he's just amazing. And such a cool guy too. When he comes into a game the whole place goes nuts, applause, cheers, chants. It's awesome. Everyone stays standing just a bit longer and claps just a bit louder when Papelbon is on the mound - and he deserves every bit of that!

Let's Go Red Sox!!