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August, 2007
DIRTY WATER: Fanatic
By K5
I had never been to California. Everyone knows that Beach Boys song about Cali's ladies (later covered admirably by Van Halen—remember that video, where Diamond Dave canoodles favorably around blond babes from the Golden State? Good times.).
Admittedly, I felt left out.
Why all this impractical wishing that all girls could be 'California Girls?
So, finally, I got there: I went with the team for the late June series out at Petco Park in San Diego. I met some California females and they were nice enough. Not all the buxom blonde bikini clad individuals from the video, either.
And you know what else? They were die-hard Red Sox Fans. So were the guys. EVERYONE WAS. Red Sox Nation West is alive and thriving. It was rare to see Padres jerseys.
Even in the streets, it was like Kenmore Square had slid all the way across the States and landed in the heart of San Diego. Red and navy shirts everywhere. Papi, Beckett, Schilling, you name your guy, his shirt was there. I think I even saw a Rich Garces tee (Garces' last season with Boston: 2002. He was 0-1 with a 7.59 ERA in 26 games pitched).
"Let's Go Red Sox!" It constantly rained on your ears.
In the middle of the 8th our crew started a Sweet Caroline sing along, and it caught on like wildfire. The Dirty Water sing along caught on just as easy when Papelbon closed out 2-1 victory that Friday evening. Saturday's game was a bust (a Padre 6-1 win) - but not many folks rubbed it in (most likely for safety reasons, there was simply more of us then there were of them), but Sunday's game was rather enjoyable.
Lots of good stuff at Petco. Fish taco? Shrimp Burrito? Sound dangerous? Dangerously delicious. Now, I'm a beer-and-steamed-dog kinda fan, but those were freakishly good. I know my limits, (I wouldn't get something like that in Detroit), but fruits of the sea fried right there in San Diego? Yes, please.
I wasn't a fan of the in-game entertainment, but, they needed it. Unlike in Boston, baseball didn't seem to be their big sell; in San Diego you are doomed to watch folks answer questions on the big screen or kids dancing on the field. Antics. All in good fun, though.
Merits of Petco include polite folks, big open spaces; also, the place is full of Red Sox fans. Nice big park, nice warm weather, nice choice of foods, nice, nice, nice.
But! There was no vendor outside selling "Manny Ramirez Sunglasses- $2!" There was no Green Monster with a ladder on it for no reason. There was no kid out front banging on a set of buckets while another kid did the worm. And there was no space for those Padres fans because local Sox fans sold out the park; aren't we lucky to crowd every game.
So, Beach Boys, don't stick your lousy wish on me. We can't all be California girls—mostly, cuz some of us are boys—but, also, because we blessed few from New England get to live here, in this untapped glorious corner of the world. However, we can all be Red Sox fans - even those California Girls.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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