Almost Rained Out

Day: 126

First things first, I shaved off my civil war beard. It was fun for a day but I just can’t manage to look that white trash for more than one twenty four hour period at a time. Maybe I’ll grow it back in Cambodia and see how it works for me there.

Matt, Chad and I had to move today; we had Rex Sox tickets for tonight but the hostel (which was about 100 yards from Fenway park) was full for the weekend. We found a average little (over-priced) hotel in midtown, moved our bags, ate lunch, wandered abound Barnes and Noble bookstore for a while (where I bought a new book of course) and went back to the hotel for a little pre-game pool time and napping. We never actually made it to the pool, but the nap was amazing. Around four we grabbed a cab and went to check on Aaron and Lei Lani, to split them up (only had 4 tickets) and take Aaron along with us to the game. When we made it to the ballpark the streets were packed, it was like the circus had come to town, but it was only the Angels playing the Red Sox. All the bars surrounding the stadium were overflowing into the streets, and the streets in turn were covered with people selling everything from steak sandwiches & sausages(delicious!) to a complete Red Sox uniform. It was pandemonium, and it was wonderful fun!

After a few rounds at one of the bars, and a few assorted street snacks, we made our way into the stadium. There was rain on the forecast, but since we paid $80 each for the tickets on ebay, we were pushing our luck with fate and hoping for clear skies the rest of the night (or else we would be out $80). The boys grabbed a few more beers and we found our seats, all the way at the back of the covered ground level, Probably some of the worst seats in the park, but Fenway Park is such a small stadium that it really didn’t matter and the game was relatively close.

About 6:45pm we see an army of guys in red shirts and khaki shorts run onto the field with a gigantic rolled up tarp. They unroll and begin to cover the infield just as a massive boom of thunder crashes in the distance. Within seconds a deluge of water and gusting winds soaks everyone in most of the park, excepting us in our “bad” seats which were far enough under cover to keep us dry from all the blowing water.

A voice comes over the load speaker: “The storm is expected to last sixty to ninety minutes then blow over, the game will be delayed until the rain clears.” By this point most of the stands had cleared into the covered hallways below the stands and we thought with this amount of water there was no way the game would go on. We stayed, mainly because the had beer and we had payed so much for our tickets. Our spirits started to slump and the field started to turn into a lake.

Time slowly clicked away, but just after eight we started to see light on the horizon (literally) and the crowd started cheering. Within minutes the storm cleared as quickly as it had came and the army of guys in red shirts and khaki shorts came out to clean up the field and get ready for the game. By 8:45 the teams were warming up on the field and the crowd started to fill back in and by nine the stadium was once again, surprising, completely full of screaming Sox fans. As the Angels stepped up to bat I started screaming for them, getting the dirtiest looks from everyone around, but I’d be damned if I wouldn’t cheer for my home team. It was a great game and after all my encouragement the Angels won 8-3.

We stepped out of the stadium into a bar for a few more drinks before bed. After last call we had meant a Boston local who took us into Chinatown to have “cold tea” (which was actually beer served in a tea pot after it was last call for the rest of the city) and Chinese food. Matt, Chad and I piled into our cab and headed home to pass out after a long day.