Jersey Homecoming: Day 8

If this week were an episode of LOST in which I played the character Jack, today would be the day I finally realized my destiny and set about my path toward changing everything that’s happened over the course of the last three years seven days. Shit’s gotten so bad, it couldn’t possibly get any worse. Like being held at gunpoint by “Others,” or beaten to a bloody pulp by “Singing Waiter” from High School High and that guy who played the Yuppie Husband in Idiocracy, a man can only take so much pain before he realizes what he must do. That’s kind of how I felt today. And that was before tonight’s amazing episode of LOST. Holy fuck. I’m so excited for next Wednesday, I don’t know how I’ll sleep between now and then.

Of course, after this morning (monumentally horrible for personal reasons I will not explain), the day kind of brightened up a tiny bit. See, my sister purchased me tickets to see the Mets game tonight. I got to go to Citi Field for the first time! Sure, I accidentally purchased us the wrong train tickets, and almost made us miss Johan Santana’s first pitch of the night (it was a strike — he proceeded to strike out 10 batters over 7 innings, yielding no runs and only two hits!). It was by far one of the best games I’ve ever attended. 1-0 games are usually totally boring, but watching Santana pitch when he’s on his game is usually a magical experience. Seeing it firsthand while sitting in incredible field-level seats on the first-base side of the diamond is even better. Is it embarrassing that the Mets only run came on a retarded fielding error by Phillies third basemen Pedro Feliz? Kind of…but a run is a run, and if it turns out to be the difference between a win and a loss I don’t know a single baseball fan who would reject it.

A baseball game at Citi Field is light-years ahead of a game at Shea Stadium. The architecture is beautiful. The rotunda creates the perfect atmosphere for entering a ballpark. The halls are wide enough that pre-game foot traffic is not sluggish. The food…let’s just say that Citi’s food options makes Shea look like a dumpster. The most important aspect — sitting and watching a game — is fantastic. Our seats (section 109) made me feel like I was right on top of the game. The field looked great, the scoreboard in centerfield looked great, the right field bleachers and Tiger Stadium-esque overhang were both neat. It’s just…it’s a fucking ballpark, you know? I guess maybe you’d have to have seen a game at Shea to understand, but just knowing that I could have such a great, intimate setting at a Mets game makes me want to return again and again. I will.

Hey, look at these classy photos I took at the game!

Approaching the stadium from the train…