Unless I either end up staying here in Baltimore permanently or manage somehow to get laid, this is probably the defining moment of my whole time here.

Game 1 tonight was seen by the 3rd largest regular-season crowd ever at Camden Yards. Tomorrow should be larger--the guy in the ticket office I talked to back in May said the Saturday night game was selling faster, plus they have fireworks after the game. As for Sunday, I don't know, but here's a possible indicator: I was at the game myself tonight. Tomorrow I'm going with one of my brothers. Sunday there will be twenty-five in our group. (And my name on the scoreboard. )

I was buying a soda from a vendor and got heckled by Orioles fans: "Don't serve him, he's a Phillies fan!" I told them, "This is American money...and it still says 'In God We Trust' on it." That made them laugh. And it was probably the highlight of their night, after Pat Burrell's 3-run homer, Jimmy Rollins' solo homer and back-to-back solo homers by Jeremy Giambi and Scott Rolen powered the Phils to a 6-2 win.

[ June 28, 2002: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

I've only been to Camden Yards once. I was in the upper deck in right field, in literally the last seat in the aisle before the stands ended. The coolest thing was that the seat swiveled so I didn't get neck strain. There was a party of black teenage girls sitting in front of us and any time the O's did something, they'd stand up and start dancing and chanting "Woops, there it is! Woops, there it is!". My friend and I had no idea what they were going on about--we figured it out about 6 months later when that chant made it to the top of the charts!

Unfortunately, my friend and I almost asphixiated on all the BBQ smoke from behind the right field fence. It's a great ballpark and the O's had the way hot Chris Hoiles catching then.

Glad you had a great time, Joe In Baltimore.

[ June 28, 2002: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

I've always had a thing about Bawlimer. First, the bird. Good looking plumage, hell of a nest builder and rare enough to be a sight when seen.

Then the city. As a kid, got off on the fact that Lord Baltimore was Catholic, like me, and MD has a great state seal/coat of arms. Dug its role in the War of 1812 and then it was the first place I visited after I got out of the Navy in '75. Had a great time at Fells Point, even if we did pick up some young ladies who couldn't understand why I wasn't interested in them. Always liked the movie "Marnie" too.

Then Camden Yards opened. My best friend from law school and I met in Pittsburgh and drove to Dulles to pick up his 12 year-old son who'd just flown in from CA. We planned a surprise for him and drove straight to CY for what I believe was the third or fourth game of its opening season. Humid and hotter than Hell when we got to our right field seats. But then the heavens opened and it poured rain. Twenty minutes later, the sky cleared, it cooled off and the Orioles won the game. Absolutely beautiful night.

Next day did Harbor Place (?) and the Constellation before driving back to DC. Love that town and everything about it. Always will.

How could you have left out the most important thing - CRABCAKES!

Wuerm - YOU GOT ME! They ARE the best and nobody west of Chain Bridge knows how to make 'em! Best ones I ever had were on US 50 enroute to Rehoboth. Thanks for the reminder and happy 4th to you!

Joe in Philly. Did you meet any hot guys at Camden Yards? Did you get laid after the game?
I have never been to ole Camden Yards. But I hear the men are hot.

O's 11, Phils 1. I hope Joe in Baltimore wasn't there.

Jim, didn't you read this part from my post?

[quote]I was at the game myself tonight. Tomorrow I'm going with one of my brothers. Sunday there will be twenty-five in our group.

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And my theory about the attendance was out the window. Saturday night had about 200 less than Friday, and there were "only" 43,000-plus today. I guess because they had no giveaways or fireworks as they did the last 2 nights. This is what it said in an article about Friday's game having the 3rd largest regular season attendance:

[quote] The largest, recorded July 7 of last season, also featured the Phillies, whose fans routinely help pack this park, if not their own.

"They like this new ballpark," Bowa said. "It's always nice to play in front of a big crowd."

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Saturday's crowd was the 6th largest in Camden Yards regular season history.

I saw no mention of Vicente Padilla being hurt. I have no idea why he was pulled after 4 innings on Saturday, especially since he didn't have to bat with the DH rule in effect. He had only thrown 68 pitches, and seemed to me to be settling down after the 4-run second (which was partially caused by poor defense). Naturally, the next 2 pitchers were seriously spanked, and the game became a rout.

Today's game, of course, was much more satisfying. And in the 8th inning one of those well-behaved Orioles fans suddenly got really loud and obnoxious and was lectured by an usher for it.

So 2 wins in 3 games and a good time was had by all. In sum, a quite successful weekend...except...

[quote] Did you meet any hot guys at Camden Yards? Did you get laid after the game?

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Ummmm, no. I'm not the type to meet hot guys at ballgames, it seems.