Not a chance. Chalk this one up in the “hard work” column - didn’t I tell you that these guys were relentless? In yesterday’s Citizen, Darren Desaulniers (a Citizen reporter that I’m beginning to take a positive view of) wrote that the Lynx needed a “miracle” to get last night’s game in. Cue Josh Teuscher and the grounds crew - the field looked amazing last night. Everyone says that the stadium “drains well” - fair enough. But how did they get rid of the snow in time? Great work, guys. Unfortunately, I think attendance was hurt a bit last night because most people (including me, but not Patrick) believed it was impossible that the field would be ready. Don’t ever sell these guys short. And here’s a bit of insider information for you: forget the groundhog as a meterological prognosticator. Last night, the direction from Josh was to leave the infield uncovered. This apparently means that good weather is on the way. Environment Canada has modified their short and long term forecasts accordingly - the weather this week looks fantastic.
Speaking of fantastic, last night was a lot of fun. I got the kids signed up for the Junior Lynx Club again (more on that later), ran into M+M (Mark and Mimi) fellow bloggers Patrick and Neate Sager (where was abaseballgeek though?), and caught some of the baseball game too. The Lynx staff “brought it” again last night - I’m now convinced that they jet Mr. Rourke in for the pregame pep talk (”Smiles, everyone, smiles!”). I just dated myself, didn’t I? It was great to catch up with D.J., Francois, Derek, Lorraine (thanks again for all your help, Mrs. Charrette), Melissa, Riley and Kyle. In the third, I found my way to the Press Box and sat in with Dan Carle for a couple of innings of the internet broadcast. Dan did a masterful job at putting me at ease in front of a microphone; I didn’t clam up. I actually enjoyed it. Thanks Dan.
All said, last night had the feel of one of those parties that you go to that you just don’t want to end. Dave, from the security team, very politely broke up a group of us that were speaking after the game - you think we would have gotten the hint when they shut the field lights off.
I’m going to have to finish this post later, but for now, here’s a few photos from last night.
Chris Coste taking his cuts.
Skratch and the Trash Monster were bringin’ it.
Zak enjoying some post-game wings.
Bekah was, clearly, not impressed with her big brother.
Or the guy with the camera.
*** UPDATE ***
One of the changes you may notice in the ballpark is the “fence” or barrier in front of each dugout - according to the Lynx, the players love it. The thing I noticed last night was that for most of the evening, both teams hung out on the top step and used the fence to lean on. The added bonus was the constant interaction they had with the fans. And while I realize it’s pretty much a cliche to talk about the “character” of a team and how it’s different or better than last year’s team, I think it’s absolutely true of this year’s roster. There’s a different vibe about them - they seem a bit looser, but very serious about winning. Gary Burnham was focussed enough to go 2-3 with an intentional walk, but not so driven that he didn’t respond to a fan’s comment on his short sleeves in decidedly less than short-sleeves weather.
“Dude. I’m from Connecticut”.
These guys are going to be a lot of fun to watch this year, especially when you get a group of people out like the one that came from the US Embassy. They had every one in our section laughing last night - cheering Lou Collier on with a Ted Baxter cry of “Loouuu-hoo-hoo-hoo”. Trying explaining why that one’s funny to a 10 year old though.
Mary Tyler Moore. Google it.
As will be the case often this year, I’ve gotta run. Zak’s inaugural bat-boy appearance is tonight, home dugout. We’ve got our fingers crossed. Check in tomorrow for more photos.
