The Red Sox Won Last Night

and despite not caring a whit about baseball I'm completely thrilled.

Last night I went with some friends who actually own Red Sox shirts and hats (because of where I'm from, I have a default love for the Red Sox, but no actual interest in the American pastime) to watch the Red Sox beat the Mariners in a very dramatic game.

There was a heightened amount of "Security" going on at this game that really threw me. I watched someone's sharpie get confiscated (even though the 3 or 4 in my purse were ignored... it was enough to make me want to develop a tag while I was in the ladies room "Paste" or "Play-Doh" or something....) and then my pal got BOOTED for putting booze in his soda, (he was a kind of a folk hero to all the people in our section after a while) and the "Alcohol enforcement" people came back and officously carded two (very beautiful and youthful) women in their FORTIES which was pretty comical for all of us watching. When I worked in shelters, part of my job was a bouner-type roll, making sure folks weren't shooting up in the bathroom, or drinking beer out of a gatorade bottle, or selling drugs. I learned a lot about how to follow rules that are unpopular, but keep people safe, and the "Profit Enforcement" people brought out a sort of adolescent indignance and obstinance in me that folks who do that work should really try to avoid.

I haven't been to Safeco for 6 years, when I watched the Mariners beat the Red Sox. At that time, my pal Al almost got his ass kicked for wearing Sox gear to the game and we were the ONLY people in earshot chearing for the Sox. This time, though, you could see the bold red and blue contrasting with the kind of sissy pastel teal and purple throughout the stadium, and there was a large contingent of Sox fans in our nosebleed section. There was one dude wearing a newish Sox jersey who kept forgetting and cheering when the Mariners would score. After numerous reminders the poor bastard just stopped cheering altogether and let his ladyfriend in a tasteful white Mariners hat do all the work.

These were not all "since the world series" fans either... you could hear in the way people cheered "Sawks" that they were hahd-co-ah fans from back east. I adore being in a crowd. (Z hates them, and often feels anxious and exhausted at events like that one, but the buoyancy of the rest of us was enough to protect him from the throng.) Being in a crowd full of people all doing the same things together is so energizing to me, and to see have fans for both teams screaming their heads off, because, who knows you're clapping and jumping MIGHT make the difference.... what a rush. Anothter rush was paying $40 for a burger, fries and a beer. Wow, ouch. And then the sox one at the very last minute. It was freakin' awesome.