Game #25-Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Nationals Stadium
September 23, 2009

This is a one and only for a tailgate, drinking a couple of Bud Lights while looking at the stadium on the left and the Washington Momument on the right. Pretty awesome sight. This is the third game this week while I am in Maryland for work. I was really stoked because my home team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are in town playing against one of the worst teams in the league. I am here with 10 people from work and they are all cheering for the home team, totally expected, but that doesn’t bother me. Just like the Red Sox playing at Baltimore there are more fans in Blue Crew gear than the Nats. Well the game was going really well at first for LA, Chad Billingsly had a no hitter into the sixth with a 3-0 lead that is until Ryan Zimmerman came up to bat for the Nats and he belted a monster shot to left field. That didn’t damper my mood too much. We were on the second level, front row, and there were a ton of LA fans right below me. I decided to start the “Let’s Go Dodgers” clap clap, clap clap clap thing but instead of clapping I was slamming my hand on the metal signs hanging in front of us. I got several thousand people to pick up the cheer which was cool…obviously it was the beer that had me so loud. Anyway, in Dodgers fashion they lost the lead in the eighth inning and lost the game 5-4 but it was still fun watching another game in the DC area. Now I only have a soccer game to go to in the nations capitol.

Notes on the stadium: Nationals Stadium is one of about 10 that have gone up in the last couple of years in the MLB. There are several really cool things to see at this ball park. First are the statues directly behind center field which portray Walter Johnson throwing a ball (in 3D, hard to explain but a gotta see), Josh Gibson's sweet swing (another 3D statue), and Frank Howard's powerful arm. I also really like the scoreboard here, bright and vibrant for the fans. You can also get a treat at the Red Loft and Red Porch in center field, but the true highlight is the view of the National Monument from the parking lot.