USRT Texas 2007: Day One!
Well, day one and stop number one is in the books, although we were worried for a bit that perhaps this game wouldn’t happen after all. Around 5:30 the skies darkened, thunder and lightning and torrential rain hit the Arlington area, and it didn’t let up for almost an hour. But the skies did clear and it was off the ballpark.
It was about a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel, and we fell in love with this place all over again. Really one of the most beautiful settings in all of baseball, with streams and ponds and parkland surrounding the venue, but the bustle of office buildings, an amusement park, hotels and of course the new Cowboys stadium all nearby. One of the cool things on the walk up was seeing the little league ballpark right next door, almost a mini version of the big boys place, with kelly green seats, retro design and even a scoreboard.
We got into the ballpark a good 45 minutes before first pitch, walked around and took a bunch of photos, and then settled into our seats in the club level. It was “Thirsty Thursday”, meaning $3 drafts and $1 sodas… of course we opted for the Coors Light!
The game itself was kind of a snooze… a 5-1 Texas win thanks to Sammy Sosa’s home run in the second and then four Chicago errors in the third. Two teams going nowhere really. From there on the only thing left to ponder was whether former Bisons Ramon Vasquez (Texas 3B) or Razor Shines, yes RAZOR SHINES (Chicago 3B coach) would make their mark in this game. Vasquez was three for four at the plate, and Shines threw two errant balls to kids in the stands.
We really enjoyed the Texas style event presentation, complete with country music bumps, and clapping along to “Deep in the Heart of Texas” in the middle of the 5th, done to a cool video.
All in all a great night in a spectacular ballpark that we were so pleased to come back and rediscover. So now it’s a good night sleep and off to Austin in the morning.
