When I joked in yesterday’s post that I was attending a rain dance ballgame that evening, I had no idea what I was actually going to be in for. Yeah, it’s been raining like every five minutes across the Midwest for the last month or so, but come on. Last night’s ballgame featured THREE rain delays BEFORE THE THIRD INNING. The first of which was a nice little cell that produced a severe thunderstorm warning. For the first time ever, I know what it’s like to be out in the open when it’s hailing.
Thankfully, nothing quite like this…
Since I got pigeonholed into a piss poor spot to wait out the storm in by the droves and droves of Cardinals and White Sox fans who attended the game, I got absolutely soaking wet to the core. So wet that I still had to change out of all of my clothes when I got home SIX HOURS later because I still felt like a used paper towel. And funny that I was just mentioning to Mark on his blog about the rain-marred scorecards I’ve brought home from past rainy games, because I think I have a reigning champ for the most waterlogged game transcription in my collection…
The Rosetta Stone weathered the elements for centuries, yet my scorecard was toast within two hours after I bought it.
Before I even had a set of starting lineups written down, I figured the obscene $2.50 I plunked down for my habitual souvenir scorecard was already wasted… yet somehow, I managed to write through the wetness.
I coulda used a fountain pen that writes under whipped cream.
This was the first time I ever entered the hallowed halls of Busch Stadium with a paper ticket from my printer (Since for some reason, MLB decided to start charging this year for snail mail delivery). Needless to say, that memento didn’t fare too well either…
That used to be a full color printout of Yadier Molina, but now it’s faded enough to perhaps be Tim McCarver.
So you came here this morning expecting your weekly comic. Yeah, maybe when I dry out later on tomorrow today. Plus, it was about 1:30 when I finally got home from this evening of fun fun fun (Yeah, I’m the stubborn one who will NEVER leave a ballgame early. Just ask my nephew, who once stayed with me until 3:14 AM at a game two years ago). Just a heads up that I’ll be a little late with my Thursday and possibly even Friday rituals…
In the meantime, enjoy this little piece of retro gold that used to air on The Weather Channel all the time in the mid 80’s…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I feel damp just looking at your photos. Of course, that might also be because I’m in the midwest where it hasn’t stopped raining for a month. Damp makes me irritable.
I’ve not been hailed on at a baseball game, but I did attend an opening day game that had three snow delays. Never so cold have I been while watching baseball. Hail might be an improvement to snow.
The closest I’ve ever come to a snow game was when I went to Chicago….. in mid-May!!! Just a few degrees colder, and it would’ve been flurries instead of a cold drizzle. I actually wore gloves at that game, and I NEVER wear gloves!
Hail’s OK if you have a hard head like I do…
Now that’s wet, Bill! And big hail. Ouch. You did great to write on that scorecard, my friend. Way to go. Remember next time: Save the clearest supermarket plastic bags you can find, and you can write through them in the rain!
Here’s an interesting tidbit from our Citi Field trip: I did the home printer for our tickets to save fees, like you, and at turnstile, they scan it, and out comes a more manageable-sized ticket they hand you instead!
Geez, that must be some kind of fancy New York innovation. No such magic conversion here in St. Louis (Or in KC and Chicago, where I’ve also used paper tickets before). Had I needed to prove my seat location after that first delay, I’d have had a heck of a time unfolding the soggy mess from my pocket to show the usher…
Cool. Can I have one of the little guys for my car?
The Sox are having such a godawful year, rain delays are welcome. It delays the inevitable disappointment. We won 3 in a row, finally, the most consecutive wins all season. The commentators suggested that offense is all well and good, but a pitcher or two would really help.
No shit.
The AL East seems like a huge flustercluck this year, and it didn’t look like your Sox were far behind the other four teams treading water at the top despite their crappiness. I’m not sure if the Rain Dance guy is still active since Solid Gold went off the air…
I’ve been hating on the hot, dry weather we’re having here, but being in soaking wet clothes for hours on end doesn’t sound fun either. Still, send your rain out this way!
I can only blow so hard westward on the clouds, but it doesn’t do any good. The rain looks like it’s here to stay. Best we can do is bottle it and send it FedEx…
Yup, still raining here today. You sir are one hell of a dedicated fan. I don’t enjoy anything enough to sit through that kind of weather for it.
I’m not sure it’s dedication… OCD is probably more apt. The last time I left a game before the final out was when I was 12 years old and didn’t have a choice in the matter. And I vowed to never miss a play again…
OMG! I hate being wet. You are very brave and I hope you don’t get pneumonia!
I wonder if your team won?
I’m probably the only person who ever attends ballgames and is mostly an impartial spectator. My teams both won and lost! 😀