One game, two completions.

Dear Weblog Superfans,

As I related some days ago, I have lately taken a wife. A common precursor to the day of the marriage itself is an evening of merriment attended by the bridegroom and his good buddies–that is, a bachelor party.

Mine was, indeed, a good time. My brother–who also served as my best man–organized the thing, along with one of my groomsmen, whom I have known for about eight years. Other friends also came. Luckily, the timing of it fell on one of the nights of a three-game homestand of the Washington Nationals, whose trials and tribulations on the baseball field I have followed with increasingly cynical passion for the last few years.

Thus came the completion of nos. 25 and 53 on my 101 in 1001: Go to a baseball game with the guys, and Go to a Nationals game in the new park!

It really was fun. We tailgated in the parking lot of RFK (they made me shotgun a beer, which was a bit sloppy–but not nearly as much as everyone expected, I think) and then took the free shuttle to Nationals Park. On the walk from the shuttle to the gate, we were given a crapload of free stuff–ice cream bars, Cracker Jack, music downloads, etc–from random people with silly shirts on. I also saw my wife’s college roommate, which was odd and scary. (She’s kind of bitchy sometimes.) One of the guys might have taken pictures, and if I ever get them I’ll put them up here. But right now you’ll have to take my word for it.

The game itself was both boring and exciting. It was a pitcher’s duel between Jason Bergmann, who can really shut the bad guys down sometimes, and Dan Haren, who is a pitcher in the major leagues, which means that the Nationals will, invariably, suck against him. But it was scoreless until late–both pitchers had a no-hitter until at least the 4th inning, I think–and then the offense came out. The Diamondbacks (the bad guys) scored a few, the Nationals came back to tie, the game went into extra innings, the Diamondbacks scored a few, the Nationals came back to tie, the game kept going, the Diamondbacks scored a few, the Nationals came back a little bit, but they didn’t tie. Which means they lost. Which sucked. But hey, that’s what you get when Jim Bowden is your GM.

The rest of the night is irrelevant to this Account. Suffice it to say that there was drinking, full frontal nudity, beer, and alcohol. The morning required orange juice and gentle voices.

But I’m OK. And I’m married now. And I’m two items closer to 101 nirvana.

Love,
msb