It was a Konnor Griffin night at the Altoona Curve ballpark Sunday. Granted, a rehab assignment for the star Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, but an important fan event locally. Over 7,000 fans packed People’s Natural Gas field to see this phenom swing a bat and field a few ground-outs before his expected return to the steel city. It’s expected to be a short stint here. Thus, the excitement.
Between a few bites of my Curve burger, I got up – noticing Konnor was up to the plate. Previous plate appearances had my torso jammed in a seat up in the third tier level … not real good for even a, err, new camera phone. Down in the first level concourse food court? Much better!
Ok, so the safety net is between us. Still not a bad picture. The only better ones I have are rookie photos graded and signed in my baseball card collection. Hey, for an amateur on a semi-burger binge – navigating a maze of hungry humanity – not bad, I say.
My scorecard began with swings and misses.
Going to the game at 5:30 was expected. Turning the corner off a major highway, coming back from an out of town trip and running into major traffic jams, was not expected. Traffic backed turning into an avenue leading to the stadium was horrendous. As that moment, I knew something was up. Not knowing Konnor Griffin’s appearance was the reason, frustration took root.
We had little time to spare. A side trip home was necessary (and planned ahead) before coming to the game. Passing by available parking wasn’t only a tough pill to swallow – that pill never came out of the bottle. Twenty minutes later upon our return, available lots were nearly full. Konnor elation in full swing.
By this time, pregame festivities were being broadcast on the radio, so I knew what was on base.
One lonely space became available waaay down in a lot seldom used during any other game. I suppose the walk up did me some good? Needed to burn off some calories ahead to help absorb the anticipated soda, Curve burger with cheese, chips, and soft pretzel w/nachos cheese I never can say never to …
There IS something to a local minor league baseball game. The 50/50 drawing I never win. Seeing a lot of people from the neighborhoods around who say, “hi”. Inter-inning games our Curve staff put out on the field. Fireworks almost every night. Pretty good food for only “slightly” higher prices than what would be paid outside of the stadium. A chance for kids to get an autograph of future MLB stars in rehab assignments or just coming up through the system. So much here for a nice evening.
When expected, I guess.
The traffic wasn’t. No real complaints. Just a half hour of “what are we going to do if there’s no parking?”… Be creative, I suppose. I’ve never gone to a Curve game where parking was a problem. The catch? Meeting friends who had free tickets for us. Just didn’t want to disappoint them by bailing. It’s why we made a special trip back from an activity an hour away.
Didn’t expect Konnor or the traffic. Knew it was going to be nice weather and wonderful friends to finish off a busy weekend.
Most times, Life isn’t 100% the way we expect. All kinds of “traffic” gets in our way.
In the end, most if it works out. After a longer than normal walk, we find our way through it to something enjoyable. Probably.
At least this is what I learned when Konnor stepped up and didn’t do real well at the plate. So he had an off night? On average, I believe he’ll be fine.
One night doesn’t define goodness. A little unexpected traffic didn’t ruin an evening, either. It was surprising, for sure. Glad one space was available and the opportunity was there, at the very least, to eventually relax.
Our hometown team lost. It hasn’t been a fantastic year. Westward by two hours, our Pirates aren’t that great. Both teams struggle. Can’t be sure. Could be ownership, management, player development, … I certainly don’t know. My life-lane doesn’t intersect at all with professional sports teams except in the card collecting area. Average minor league attendance per game here isn’t close to what it was Sunday night.
All I know – or care about – is: I enjoy the games in Altoona. The food and the atmosphere.
Wouldn’t mind the traffic all the time. This means they are playing well. Bumper to bumper would be expected. Now, that would be a home run on my scorecard.
DougHugs 