We walked the 1.3 miles to the AT & T Stadium to see the San Francisco Giants play the visiting San Diego Padres. The game began at 7.15 pm. Jean and I didn't realise we'd actually bought really good seats - right near the pitcher and batter, which, in the opening innings, were the Giants and the Padres respectively. The crowd was very enthusiastic, roaring periodically with excitement. We studied the board with its scores etc and the field with its first base, second base, third and home. I remembered Abbott and Costello: "Who's on first base? What's on second?"
The ladies sitting behind us, who thought I had a lovely accent, helped us understand the game. Between 7.15 and just before 10, each team played nine innings. In that time, we took a short break to grab food. Otherwise, we watched the game the whole time. As each batter came to bat, a large screen displayed a photo of the batter. One Giant was called 'Hunter Pence', which Jean thought sounded tragically like 'Underpants'.
The stadium seemed large, with several levels climbing quite high up. The crowd was 41,000 strong, and the event was the 285th consecutive record sell-out. There were many empty seats around, and after we returned from getting food, a couple sat in our row whom we hadn't seen before. They were screaming abuse at 'Carlos', one of the Padres currently batting. They were quite loud. Eventually, a ticket lady appeared, demanding to see their tickets. They were removed. Apparently, they had crept over from the cheaper seats.
When the Padres gathered round the Padre pitcher for a brief conference, the Giants-supporting crowd booed. Later, when the Padres were batting, and hit a home run, a spectator leaned over the edge, and tried to catch the ball, interfering with a Giant's attempts to also catch it. A review of the previous play was necessary (reviewed in New York of all places), stalling play for some minutes. The decision went against the Padres, and right in front of us the Padre coach and umpire nearly had a fist fight. The crowd booed loudly and stood on their feet in protest. Umpire and coach returned to their positions, the crowd sat down, and the game played on.
The atmosphere was great. It was fuelled by whoever was in charge of the music. Organ music played over the loud speakers. A few notes played, and the crowd repeated the notes by clapping hands. At the beginning of the evening, a young woman was driven in a jeep along the perimeter of the field, and the crowd was advised she would later be asked a question. During a break near the end of the evening, the big screen showed the young woman, flanked by a young man on one knee presenting a ring. She said 'yes', and the crowd cheered while the couple kissed. Next, the screen showed another random couple. OK, they kissed too. Then, another random couple. Oh all right, they kissed too. Then, an elderly couple kissed. Next, the big screen showed a man and woman who apparently didn't know each other. The pressure was on. Kiss! Kiss! What the hell, they kissed too!
The Giants lost 6.0 to the Padres.
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