,

Opening Day thoughts

I got back from RFK not too long several hours ago. The Nats season started off about the same as last year — a big loss on a beautiful day.

  • I biked to RFK Stadium again. It is about eight miles from Pentagon City. Aside from lots of pedestrian traffic between Capitol Hill and Arlington Memorial Bridge, it is a great ride.
  • Another good MissChatter sponsored tailgate. It was great seeing so much of the Natmosphere and even a Cap blogger or two.
  • Dan Steinberg stopped by (with Littles) asked some questions, filmed some bloggers, etc. No artisanal cheese though. I guess he thought it would be rude given my lactose intolerance. That was thoughtful, but why should others miss out? Also, I had some Lactaid with me, so it was cool. Perhaps next time – maybe for BOTB?
  • Good to see the Nationals wearing traditional home whites for Opening Day. The Marlins, the franchise that introduced teal to baseball, did not abide with traditional away grays. I don’t like it when home teams where something other than white for day games and special events. For Opening Day, both teams should skip alternates, etc.
  • As said on this and other forums, the president should have been there.
  • The flyover was late, but still cool.
  • We were seated right behind the fair pole in right field. I couldn’t see the mound with moving. The guys next to us were pretty cool. One of brought up Dimitri Young’s domestic violence problems. I directed him to Capitol Punishment (a no-show at the tailgate by the way).
  • I like the new p.a. announcer, but there is still room for improvement with what he is saying. The sound quality was good in that section though.
  • There were very few beer vendors in our section and no food vendors.
  • The person seated directly in front of Fritz caught a ball thrown over by an outfielder between innings.
  • The grill works near 471 was awful. It took me over half an hour to get my dogs. This is season three and they still can’t run a basic concession stand. Unbelivable! Stan Kasten is getting an email.
  • Due to the long line, I missed the Presidents Race, including Teddy on the zipwire directly over my head. D’oh!
  • One nice thing about playing the Marlins on Opening Day is there are not any opposition fans in the park.
  • I didn’t see why Cristian Guzman was removed from the game.
  • Fritz carried my camera to and from the game. Thanks Fritz.
  • Speaking of, I probably won’t have photos up until tomorrow evening sometime. I’m not going to work on that stuff when I can be outside in great weather. Hopefully, that opprutunity will present itself.
  • That Nats have not won an Opening Day (or home opener) I have attended.
  • At least Ryan Zimmerman had a good game.
  • The person seated directly in front of Fritz caught a ball thrown over by an outfielder between innings.
  • The opera singer did a great rendition of “God Bless America.”
  • The Nats cap that was given away today was the highest quality yet.
  • I’m really tired and need to go to bed.