7.15.2011

The GGA Project -- Day # 216 "Not-So-Blue-Collar Beverage"

Just after the MLB All-Star break, I'd yet to go to a baseball game this season!  It's not like I've been a regular attendee these past few years, up here and so far from my beloved (bankrupted) Dodgers, but I now live SO close to my 2nd favorite team--the Oakland A's--that it's ridiculous I hadn't traveled the 4 stops up Bart to see them yet.

A few weeks ago my friend Brian and I started planning to get to a game, and tonight's game against the (so-called) Los Angeles Angels was the chosen one.  A short drive to his house and we're then only a 3-minute walk and only two Bart stops away from the Coliseum.  I LOVE being able to take public transportation to sporting events!  I got there and we chilled for a little while, then headed out the door and were walking through the stadium gates within 20 minutes.  Perfect!


It was Bring Your Dog to the Game day, so there were tons of adorable mutts trotting around with various types of A's gear on.  So cute!


One thing that I love about the A's is that they are still a blue-collar team.  Ticket prices are still affordable (made even more so by a 2-for-1 voucher), as is food.  And while I'm all for keeping to ballpark food at the ballpark, my vegetarian diet limits that to the choice of nachos or other snacks, but I hadn't had dinner.  So I went for a pretty decent veggie dog, which is--I suppose--as close as I'll ever get again to a true ballpark meal.


A few innings later I lost a bet on racing dots on the big screen to Brian with a round of beers at stake.  Here is where the sticking-to-ballpark-fare takes a turn and wherein comes


Today's New Activity: Plastic Cup o Widmer


Our tickets were pretty close to a loungy, enclosed restaurant area that featured a full bar.  Not only was the wait much shorter than that for the regular concessions, there were more beers on tap to choose from.  A true purest would have gone for Bud at the ballpark, but I prefer to drink decent beer whenever possible.  I'd never tried Widmer (which has the option of being served with a lemon, though I skipped that), but Brian described it as light and wheaty, so I went for it.




It was just that: light and wheaty, and tasty.  The only problem was that I woke up feeling sick Friday morning, which only got worse throughout the day.  I fought through it because I really wanted to get to the game, but I'm not sure I tasted the beer's full flavor as a result.  It was good anyway.


Brian was a great choice of game buddy.  You just never know when you go to a sporting event with somebody.  While it would be boring to sit in silence through a game, no matter how into it you are, it can also be annoying when people feel the need to comment incessantly.  I like a good mix of paying attention to the game and talking with whomever I've come with about matters related or not to the action in front of us.  Brian seemed to be on the same wavelength.  We caught all the important action but also had plenty of time to discuss whatever and just catch up.  I was also able to forget that I was feeling sick during that time.  Mad props for good company!  And then...the A's won.  Woo hoo!!


It was a great night all the way around.



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