I've never been to Dodger Stadium. What kind of LA girl am I? There are a few places in this mighty town I have yet to visit. When my sister told me that our nephew, Marc, a junior at UCLA on the varsity baseball team was going to bat against USC in the Dodger Stadium this weekend, the first of the Dodgertown Classic, ever, I downloaded directions and took the whirlybird ride up Stadium Way. There is a synchronous electric feel to the air and sure enough, my sister and family drove up from Orange County right behind us at Parking Lot ball #3.
Okay I felt a little out of place not wearing the UCLA flag across my chest and behind but blue has never been my favorite color anyway. I was there for the screaming excitement watching my nephews team beat the ass off USC.
And they did. In front of 14,448 enthusiasts blanketing the left and right field pavilions.
Oddly my brother-in-law led the parade toward foul ball territory right behind the alumni tubas and beating drums. Not to mention the guy eating nonstop candy and yelling out the names of the players coupled with a mix of the appropriate insults and way-to-go's through the UCLA megaphone every few minutes. We cheered. We screamed til our throats went raw.
Then the foul balls came at us, as predicted by our Brother Phil who spent time on the field in the old days with the Philadelphia Phillies minors. Sure enough. My sister Cathy covered my head and saved my life. Brother-in-law Mike caught the ball and let it fall into a neighbors lap.
We watched our nephew Marc steal bases and reveled in the glory of a 6-1 Victory over the Trojans. Did we eat a Dodger Dog? No. The line would have lasted two innings and the line was slow so we saved our appetites for a dinner afterwards.
What was grand was the company kept and the joy shared and the big hugs and knuckle slaps. We gathered for our boy Marc and the long hard work of his team mates. And of course, a Dodger first for me. Happily, my husband remembered his one time visit to the center field pavilion. At ten years old,(53 years ago) he and his Dad saw a game and he caught a home run ball. Without his glove!
