After the first tropical storm to hit the Los Angeles area in almost 90 years poured record amounts of rain for August, one of the memes that went viral on social media was a photo of what appeared to be a flooded Dodger Stadium. And for homophobes, it was a sign that a higher force was unleashing its wrath on the Dodgers for honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during their June 16 Pride Night.
Well, I hate to disappoint the anti-gay crowd rooting for Dodger Stadium to become a water park instead of a baseball field: The widely circulated photo was an optical illusion and the stadium was not flooded by storm Hilary. In fact, an L.A. Times photographer who visited Monday morning found the place “bone dry.”
From the L.A. Times (where I also work):
It turns out a similar photograph appeared in the newspaper after a 2005 storm. There wasn’t flooding then, and there wasn’t any this time. It was an optical illusion, the interplay of water and light on a wet surface.
“Reflection of light,” said Times photographer Robert Gauthier, who captured new images on Monday. “That’s what it seems like.”
While Dodger Stadium underwater was not true, what is verifiable is the Dodgers’ record since Pride Night: 37-17, including an absurd 17-2 record in August. The team leads the National League West by 12 games and have all but clinched the division and are gunning for the best record in baseball. The Dodgers will be relevant in October when they will make a run for their second World Series title in four seasons.
So if one believes there is a God that cares about what group a sports team is honoring and acts accordingly, then it’s obvious that he or she bleeds Dodger Blue.
