We showed up to Rangers Ballpark almost three hours before game time. The moderate to heavy traffic was the beginning of the electric vibe running through the streets surrounding the ballpark. The other was the smell of grilling throughout the entire park grounds. Tailgaters, by now, were pretty buzzed. A few were flat out drunk. Some never even made it inside the ballpark.
Our quest was to find 2 good tickets to get into the stadium. Almost immediately, we ran into a scalper who thinks this is Game 7 of the World Series, and is offering us two tickets at $200 bucks per ticket. I looked at him and said,"Yeah, I'll come tomorrow night if I don't get in today." Needless to say, our search continued for a couple hours, but everybody was overpricing their tickets. Some ridiculous people wanted $400 for upper deck tickets. Some said their tickets were close to the field by the bases, but the seating map showed they were in the crevices of the stadium. Some guy would have sold his ticket for a six pack of beer if his friends wouldn't have talked him out of it.
By this time, my brother and I are getting hungry and a little desperate. Luckily, a group of fans that were tailgating that DIDN'T have extra tickets offered us some of their fajitas and beer.
They were kind, so we hung out with them for a little while. We offered to pay them for the food and beer, but they refused to accept. I told them I would share the photos I took with them. That seemed to be a reasonable enough offer for them. We were so thankful to them and their kindness. It helped refuel us as we continued to search for tickets.
Thirty minutes till game time and we still had no tickets. By this time, everybody is starting to make their way to the ballpark. Only the severely buzzed and drunk people who are trying to maintain their balance are staying put. We walk against the flow of traffic and all the desperate scalpers are suddenly visible, trying to get rid of their stash of tickets still drastically over-priced. By the way, apparently, in the underground world of scalping, there is a correct way to use your hand if you want to PURCHASE tickets or sell tickets. Right hand to buy, left hand to sell. I don't know. I'll research that before next year's opening day.
We finally bought two $25-tickets for $70 a piece down from $100. It was the lowest we could find and they were in the upper deck. Not exactly what we wanted, but at least we were going in.
Once inside, it was like attending a game for the first time. The ambiance was electrifying. It was flowing with red, white, and blue colors, and a strong patriotic fever. Our seats turned out to have a pretty good view of the entire ballpark.
We met colorful people.
Drank some beer and ate food.
And to top it all, the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-5. It looked so good on that new gigantic scoreboard.
Can't wait till next year again. Only next time, I need to get more camera gear and a fake press pass to make it down to the field level.
GO RANGERS!
BLAHG you later!
No comments:
Post a Comment