Robservations: Beating the cold at the park
It’s officially baseball time in Warren County.
After rainout after rainout, and postponement after postponement, the Pioneers opened their defense of their District 7-AAA title Wednesday afternoon, with a solid 5-3 win over the visiting Cookeville Cavaliers.
If you’re a baseball fan, this is your time of year. Clear skies, green grass, the pop of a mitt, and the “ding” of a bat. It may not be heaven, but it’s sure close.
The only thing is, with these early-season tilts like Wednesday’s against the Cavs, you don’t exactly have “baseball weather.”
Let’s face it. It’s still cold in Tennessee in March, especially at night. But you’ve got to admire those Pioneer fans who brave the frigid weather to come out and root, root, root for the home team.
If you’re looking to come out to a game, but are afraid of catching a chill, don’t worry. In fact, here are several helpful suggestions to help you take in the game without taking home a case of the sniffles.
• Dress for the occasion. Goodness knows, when you think about hanging out in the bleachers for fun at the ballpark, you think T-shirts, shorts and a cap. And goodness knows I’m the biggest proponent of that particular outfit.
But even I know when it’s 50 degrees, you’re going to freeze to death if you try to go to the park in your cutoffs.
So grab a jacket, gloves and a toboggan. Heck, pull your coveralls out of the closet if you have to. It may be a little bulky in the bleachers, but it beats freezing to the seat.
• Find a buddy. This is an important suggestion, not only because we all need to make nice at the ballpark, but — more importantly — because I’ve seen the gear that some of the more wily, veteran baseball fans carry with them on these early-spring nights.
If the weather turns cool, they’re bringing out the big blankets, the warm fuzzy comforters, and even — here’s the biggie — portable space heaters.
Now, I’m not saying if you get cold at the game, and see someone wheel up one of these kerosene Godsends, that you should bum-rush them to share their personal space.
Rather, I’m saying make a buddy when you get to the park. Be nice to them, maybe buy them a soda or share your sunflower seeds. Then, if it does turn a little “airish,” you can flash them a pitiful look. If they’re a good guy at all, they’ll say, “Hey, buddy, slide up here and share my heater with me.”
• Hang out with the railbirds. Of course, there are only so many heaters, and so many buddies to share them with. So you may, literally, get left out in the cold.
That’s when plan “C” kicks in — the railbirds.
If you’ve gone to many games, no matter where they are, you know there’s always going to be a group of men standing together somewhere in the park, analyzing the game from every angle and reminiscing about the glory days.
They know who pitched that 12-inning game that night in Franklin County, when it was so cold the Dr Peppers were frozen in the cans. They know who plays summer league ball for whom, and which seventh-graders are tearing up the training leagues.
And they also know something else that’s very important — the location of the grill. The fact that these meetings of the minds occur no more than 10 feet from a nice, warm, open hamburger grill is no coincidence.
So find yourself a spot in among these guys. You’ll hear some good stories, you’ll get to support the team, and you’ll keep Jack Frost at bay through these first weeks of the season.