Having completely enjoyed myself at my June adventure to a Saint Paul Saints game, I have to be honest--I wasn't sure when or if I'd make it to a Minnesota Twins game this summer. Throw in their abysmal record, the unpredictable weather we've had all summer, and ticket prices that can be prohibitive, and it wasn't looking likely. A few weeks ago, however, my family took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Target Field to watch the Twins "take on" the Kansas City Royals!
My little brother Jonathan's fraternity big brother, Ben, was in town for a visit, and we all woke up Sunday to a day that was too cloudy and windy to justify boating. What better way to introduce Ben, a native Ohio boy, to Minnesota than through baseball?
We all piled in my dad's truck and headed downtown under ominously overcast skies...only to arrive, pay event parking, and find out the game's start had been delayed by 45 minutes. In our eyes, of course, this was just a great excuse to go have a beer...which we promptly did at O'Donovans, home of many an Irish gamewatch of years past!
My dad scalped tickets like a hero on a streetcorner, ending up with two amazing seats a few rows above the home dugout for the boys, and three seats in the Legends Club for him, my mom, and me. Also off the first baseline, the Legends Club includes standard open-air seats along with access to a glassed-in, air-conditioned clubhouse featuring great food and super extensive hard liquor bars. Um, count me in...way more enjoyable than my innumerable high-school and college trips to games with seats in the nosebleeds!
Immediately upon entering, we hydrated with "Cape Cods" (vodka-cranberry--has anyone else ever heard it called this, or is it some weird Target Field thing?) and bonded with Bradee...who was legitimately one of the cutest guys I've ever seen and was an utterly adorable bartender. I promise this is relevant. Our seats were fantastic, and we fortunately were under an overhang from the deck above us...which I promise is ALSO relevant. The boys, of course, had insanely awesome seats with a perfect view of the Twins players and manager completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge...too funny.
Two innings in, the Royals had scored seven runs to the Twins' 1, and I had downed two vodka-crans. As if in protest of the score discrepancy, the sky opened up and it started absolutely pouring...for about two minutes. What is it with me and rainy sporting events? It was seriously raining so hard that even my tiny iPhone camera could capture it--check out the picture on the right, above. The mass exodus from the stadium was hilarious to observe from our sheltered, totally dry seats. Hilarity only increased when this happened no less than three more times before...
RAIN DELAY #2!!!!!!!!!! The boys, who we thought totally had the better seats, were absolutely drenched despite the $5 ponchos they'd purchased. My parents and I were suddenly so much more grateful for our covered seats and cush lounge. We took advantage of our bond with Bradee the bartender to keep the very vodka-heavy vodka crans flowing...at one point, we came inside the lounge, took a bathroom break, and he had three pre-mixed and waiting on the bar for us before we even made it over there. Talk about amazing service, am I right?
After 45 minutes of delay (and like 3 more vodka-cranberries), play finally resumed and we soldiered on until shortly after the 7th inning stretch, when the score was like 10-3 Royals and the boys were too wet and cold to take it anymore. We bailed to the 5-8 Club for Juicy Lucys (another Minnesota institution) and ultimately chalked the day up as a total success (even though the Twinnies lost 12-6...eek). Here's to checking one more item off my Summer Bucket Lizt!
