Nats1derful on the Porch

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Wonk out on the digits

April 7, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Florida	1	1	5	0	0	1	0	0	2		10	11	0
Washington	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	1	0		7	11	2

Editor's note: Game 1 of the Marlins series was spent with our good friend Nats1derful, who took the time to write it up and post it over at NatsFanatics:





Nats1derful
Hall of Famer
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 1086
Location: Vienna and Section 132WC, WW, 15 & 16
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:58 am Post subject: A Night At The Park - "Nationals Lottery"


So, I had sold my tickets to last night's game, thinking softball season would be going, and my coed team plays on Monday nights. Softball schedule came out, season wouldn't start until 4/21. So, after last weekend's excitement, I was scrambling to get a ticket to last night's game. Craigslist had a few - I sent e-mails, and while looking for replies the next morning, there was a great e-mail from my buddy and fellow Racing President also-ran, RFKeith, inviting me to join him in his shiny new Red Porch seats for last night's game - or, "Red Pooch" as Hugh calls them - the best kept secret in the new park - the working man's Diamond Club.

I was all over that, so we planned to meet at the center field gate at 6. Keith got there early, so I called him when I showed up. (Fortunately, he had warned me that a gang of Clydesdales were hanging around outside the gate - I might have done something I'd later regret if I hadn't been prepared...bad memories of a lost weekend in St. Louis still lingered in my mind, and the last thing I needed was a bunch of friggin' Clydesdales to remind me. However, I do believe I saw a wild pack of dalmations tearing around the corner after a beer truck, though that may have just been my furtive imagination after seeing one too many beer commercials). Keith came out, we got settled into our Red Porch seats (great view, $20.00 food credit - SWEET!) I decided to use my food credit up at Five Guys, so I stuffed myself with a humongous burger and an order of Fries that didn't quit. We caught up on off-season activities (Keith sailed half-way around the world on a little sailboat - and got paid to do it! I'm putting in my application today). Around the third inning, we went around to the Majorca Coffee stand to warm up a bit. I checked in on the folks sitting in my regular seats (they loved them). We decided to stop down to see Hugh, Lisette, and Elliott behind the dugout, when things got wierd - good wierd - "out of an episode of Seinfeld" wierd. Only at a Nats game.

As we're heading down the steps towards the dugout, there was a huge crowd gathered, and we realized they were doing the trivia question there. So we waited, then everyone started heading up the steps towards us. We ducked into two empty seats to get out of the way of the stampede of Natpackers and other assorted creatures. 4 guys from Richmond were sitting around us, and passing an empty cup around, sticking money in it occasionally, and when someone hit a homerun, the guy holding the cup pocketed all the bills in it. Curiosity got the better of Keith and I, and next thing we knew, we were playing the "Nationals Lottery" with our newfound Richmond friends. We spent the rest of the game right there, in Section 128, sticking a buck into the cup if the batter made an out while we were holding it (two bucks if he struck out or hit into a double play). If the batter got a hit or walk, or got on by error, you passed the cup on without adding to it. Poor Keith must have had it for 3 or 4 strikeouts - I had it when Nick hit a long drive to left that came down just short of the warning track. The cup was getting pretty full by the 9th inning, and whoever was holding it for the last out would get what was in it. I was very hopeful, when one of the friggin' Marlins got a homer, and someone else got the proceeds. I did wind up being the last one holding, and won all of 11 bucks, at that point. But, I must say, we had a blast. I kept waiting for Kramer or Elaine to come walking up. The Nationals Lottery. Try it. You'll like it.





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