My first World Series Game

After much nail-biting and price-watching, I finally bit the bullet on Halloween afternoon at about 4:30. I bought two tickets to Game 4 of the World Series on StubHub. Up to that point, I had been unwilling to pay $400 each for seats, but as the day wore on, people who wanted to turn their tickets into some cash were lowering their asking price. I finally decided to buy when upper deck seats started coming down to the $225 area and ended up getting two seats in section 310 for $235 each. With the ridiculous 10% fee StubHub charges, I paid just over $500 for my son and me to go to the World Series.

It was actually my first playoff game of any kind and I have to say, even though the Rangers lost the game, it was worth the money to be a part of that atmosphere. We arrived about 5:30, got our free rally towel and World Series pin and as soon as we entered the centerfield gate, it was a sea of red and blue. It was almost impossible to move around the stadium and the line into the main gift shop was 10 wide and 30 or 40 deep so we headed past the centerfield visitor's bullpen to our seats. The only problem was the ESPN guys, Bobby Valentine, John Kruk and Karl Ravitch had their mini-studio set up next to the bullpen and there was an incredible logjam of people. If you've never been to the Ballpark in Arlington, there is a narrow walkway behind the visitor's bullpen that leads to a narrow doorway that goes under the left field seats and onto the concourse. Well, it took us 20 minutes to go about 50 feet as people were basically stuck there. It didn't help that the people directly behind the ESPN stage wouldn't move whenever those guys were on live.

We finally made it around to the concourse and my son really wanted to go to a gift shop. There is a small gift shop behind the homeplate are and we waited about 30 minutes to get in and another 20 minutes to check out. Three t-shirts and two programs later, I'm out another $100, but that's ok. We were actually in the middle of checking out when Lyle Lovett started singing the National Anthem so we missed that. We were headed up the double set of escalators to the top of the stadium when they introduced both President Bush's and didn't get to see the ceremonial first pitch. I was very disappointed in that, but hey, my son got a shirt right?

The crowd was awesome and the noise was fantastic. Here is a view of the field from section 310.





I went to the very first opening day at the Ballpark in Arlington back in 1994 and it was nothing compared to the electricity of Game 4.

The game itself was obviously disappointing. Madison Bumgarner was lights out and pitched the Giants to their second shutout of the series. That was the first time a team had been shutout twice in the World Series since the Orioles shutout the Dodgers 3 times in the 1966 Fall Classic. Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey homered, the Rangers couldn't mount any kind of threat and the Giants took a 3-1 series lead. All that was disappointing to be sure, but I'm still glad I was at the game.

Just being at the game, a World Series game, was amazing. Being able to share it with my son was the best. My younger son didn't want to go. That's ok too. He's more into basketball so maybe I'll take him to the Finals if the Mavericks ever get back there.

Only 150,000 or so people got to attend the first ever World Series in Rangers history. I'm glad we were two of those people. One thing I'm sure of....it won't be another 50 years before this franchise makes it back to the World Series. Oh, I guess you can never sure, but the Rangers are a hungry, young team and with the new ownership group andI think they have a very bright future.