Tag Archives: sports

A Night Of Baseball (or Enjoying The Enthusiasm)

I haven’t been going out every night, but I feel like I’ve been getting out more and more and I’m feeling less anxious about it. There are still some things that make me a bit hesitant or that I don’t know if I’m fully comfortable with, but I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to find things that have been fun and feel safe. And last week, I had another adventure that really was awesome.

I was supposed to go on a date to an outdoor rooftop movie thing, but the day before the venue emailed saying they had to cancel the event. They didn’t say why, but it wasn’t a weather thing. But the guy I was supposed to go out with and I still wanted to meet up so we tried to think of something fun to go do. We both thought about it during the day and we said we’d have a phone call after work to figure out our plan. And while I was trying to be inspired and think of fun ideas, I saw something online about how that day was the opening day for the Dodgers, and the next day there would be another game. I looked online at the tickets, and there were quite a few seats left and they weren’t horribly priced. So I added that to my list to discuss when we had our call. And we decided that going to the game would be something fun and since it was outside it would feel a bit safer than being inside with a lot of people.

I haven’t been to too many professional baseball games and it had been several years since the last time I went to see the Dodgers, but I always have fun when I go to the games. As I explain to people who ask me if I like to watch sports, I don’t really care about sports but I love enthusiasm. I think it’s a similar feeling to going to a musical with experiencing something with a group of people who are really excited to be there. And of all sports, I think baseball is probably the one I enjoy watching in person the most. At least I seem to understand the game the most.

When we looked at the ticket options online that evening, I was showing him the options for cheap seats. But he wanted to spend a little more so we could sit a bit closer to the game. I didn’t mind spending a bit more, and the tickets weren’t too expensive. And it ended up not mattering much because he bought the tickets and then didn’t let me pay him back.

The game was an evening game after work, and we got there a little after the game started due to traffic. We got a pretty good parking spot and were in the stadium quickly. We decided to get food before going to our seats but wanted to make sure we knew where our seats were first. And I guess I didn’t quite understand the seating chart because we were much closer to the field than I thought! I thought we were one level higher, but we were so close to the game and really could see the action!

I kept saying how I was so surprised at how close we were because it was just amazing to not be sitting far away. I usually am sitting in the outfield or much higher up. This felt like such a change from how I’ve experienced baseball games in the past.

The game was really fast, partially because of the new pitch clock and partially because there were no runs until almost the end of the game. There was one home run by the Dodgers and the energy of the crowd was truly electric. It was a moment that made me so grateful to be in that crowd that night and reminded me how much I love experiencing events like this.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost the game that night. But it was still fun to watch. And most games have some special thing happening, such as a giveaway or fireworks. And after this game, there was a drone show. I’ve seen drone shows on tv before, but never in person. And it was really neat seeing all the different formations they made in the sky above the stadium.

I know I’ve said this before, but I need to be better about doing things like this. Not just for dates that I go on, but with my friends as well. It would be pretty easy to organize going to a game with a friend or two and I think I’ll try to do that sometime this season. It doesn’t have to be too expensive to go if we sit up high and it can be a really nice way to spend an afternoon or evening. And even if we aren’t paying a lot of attention to the game, the energy there is great to be a part of and really helped me feel more connected to my city and others again.

Let’s Go Dodgers (or A Night Out At The Game)

I didn’t really grow up in a sports family. I did play sports as a kid (I did soccer, softball, gymnastics, and swim team at various times in my childhood), but we really didn’t watch sports. Part of that was because my dad hates watching tv, but we rarely went to live sports. I think for a couple of years we maybe did one baseball game a year. I went to maybe one or two hockey games. The first professional basketball game I went to was not that long ago. And I’ve never been to a professional football game.

Since moving to LA I’ve gone to a couple of baseball games. I went to a Dodgers game once for my birthday and once for a friend’s birthday. And maybe 10 years ago my roommate at the time won VIP tickets for an Angels game and I took my brother. But I rarely go to a game just because I don’t usually think about going. So when a friend of mine asked me if I want to go with her to a Dodgers game this past weekend, I jumped at the chance to go!

It was actually her company picnic, so they had a reserved section before the game where there was food. We got there pretty close to the start time for the picnic and we got some Dodger dogs, chips, and water. It was pretty awesome to not have to spend money on food at the game even if the food isn’t too horribly expensive. Free food is always the best and it was fun getting to meet some of my friend’s co-workers before going over to our seats.

I was worried that we were going to be sitting in the sun, but when we got to our seats we were under an overhang and not facing the sun so we had lots of shade.

Being at a game is really so exciting and it’s fun to be in a crowd like that. It’s a bit overwhelming too, but fortunately our seats were the last row in that section so I didn’t feel like I was in the middle of everyone. It felt a bit more secluded and I was able to relax.

The game was fun. Unfortunately, the Dodgers weren’t playing that great but we did get to see some great plays. And to me, being at the game is more than just watching the game. It’s being around friends and just enjoying being outside. And it was much cooler that night than it had been lately so I was having fun enjoying some outside time. Plus, we had some pretty sunset clouds a little after the game started.

The game was moving pretty quickly, but my friend and I had decided to leave before the game was over. It’s so much easier to leave before everyone else tries to leave and we didn’t want to be stuck in the parking lot for a long time just trying to get out onto the road. Plus, neither of us were super invested in the game. I think if we had paid for our tickets, we would have stayed longer. But when you have free tickets, you don’t feel like you have to get the most for your money. But we did stay until the sun went down because it does look pretty cool being in the dark with the stadium all lit up.

We left after the 5th inning and when we were in the car we had the game on the radio so we could pay attention to what was happening. Nothing ended up happening in the game until I was home and put the game on my tv. There were a few more runs, but I think the most exciting moments were during the beginning of the game when we were there. And the Dodgers continued their losing streak and ended up losing this game as well.

Even though I didn’t stay for the entire game, I really did have a great time at the game. This is something that I was telling myself I needed to do again since it had been years since I was at a game. And this was the perfect chance to get to go and not have to worry about if I should be spending money on it. And it made me realize that I do want to try to get to more baseball games. I don’t know if I’ll go every summer, but maybe every other or every few summers would be fun. It’s a nice treat to do and it’s a great way to hang out with friends.

Hopefully the Dodgers will start winning again and if I get a chance to go to another game soon it will be one where they do win! I have a lot of friends who are big baseball fans and diehard Dodgers followers and I know they really want the team to do better than they are doing now.

Loving The Olympics (or Feeling Like An Athlete)

I’ve always loved watching both the summer and winter Olympics. I think it’s so amazing to see the athletes competing against each other and the fact that countries are coming together for a single goal. I think I love both the summer and winter games equally and I’m so glad I have a DVR now so I can record everything and watch them when I have a chance (I’m slowly making my way through the various events and I think I’ll be caught up soon).

During the winter games, I love all the skiing events. Even though I haven’t been able to be on the slopes for about half my life, I still consider myself a skier (I wonder how I’d do if I tried it again?). I miss the feeling of going down the mountain and feeling like you are flying and are alone in your own little bubble. It was such a sense of freedom and if I wasn’t high risk for breaking my hip I’d probably still be doing it.

And I’ve always loved gymnastics during the summer games. I think my love for watching the gymnastics really started during the 1996 games in Atlanta. One of the gymnasts on the team, Amy Chow, was from where I was from. And she trained at the gym where I used to take gymnastics class (I didn’t get too far into the sport, but I still can do a couple of tricks). Even though I didn’t really know Amy, it felt like someone who was just like me was out there winning a gold and it was just incredible to watch.

I also love the track events during the summer games. When I was in middle school, I was on the track and field team. I wasn’t a runner even as a kid, so I only did field stuff. And my 2 events were long jump and triple jump. I don’t think I was very good at either, but since there was a lack of participation in triple jump I did occasionally place because last place was still in the top 5. Watching real athletes do those events is so much fun because I remember how hard it was for me to do them.

But this year I’m looking at the Olympics a bit differently. This is the first time that I’ve been working on my fitness as hard as I am while the games are happening. Of course, some of the things are a little overwhelming like how they can do a 10K in the time it takes me to do 1.5 miles at my best speed. Knowing that I’m 3 times slower than an Olympian is a bit weird to think about, but I’m not frustrated by it.

Of course, I’m still loving gymnastics and watching the athletes throw their bodies in the air in ways that seem impossible! I even got into watching diving and trampoline because they have similar elements to gymnastics with the flips and twists. To think how hard they must have trained to get their bodies to do that is insane and sometimes I have to pause my DVR just to get into my head what I just saw.

But this year, I’ve discovered an event that I didn’t really care too much for before but this year has taken on real meaning to me: rowing. I do rowing all the time at Orangetheory and I know how long it takes me to do certain distances on average. Yes, we use a rowing machine, but it’s a water rower so we do have to move the paddle of the machine through water to make it go. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s as close as you can get to being on the water.

I didn’t know this before this year, but all Olympic rowing events are 2,000 meters. That’s a distance we do from time to time at Orangetheory and I know that I will never look at 2,000 meters the same way again. To know that technically I have the endurance to complete an Olympic distance blows my mind!

But the craziest thing to me about watching the rowing was seeing the times that the athletes were getting. While they were faster than I can do (about 2 minutes faster than I can do), they weren’t as much of a difference as I was expecting. And I know some people at Orangetheory that can row 2,000 meters in a similar time to what these athletes did.

Olympic Rowing

Of course, my immediate thought was to message my friends who I know row that fast and joke that they need to start training for the next Olympics! I don’t know how much slower they would be on the water versus the machine, but it still gave me something to think about.

I know I’m not close to being an Olympian, but to know that I’m not 3 or 4 times slower than them makes me feel pretty amazing. I’ve said before that I am starting to feel like an athlete in training versus someone in the gym working out to lose weight. But having this knowledge about rowers makes me think that even more.

I’ve still got a few more days of Olympics to watch and I can’t wait to see what happens. I’ve been so inspired already and any extra inspiration that I can get would be awesome!

Finally Going To Staples Center (or VIP Status)

I’ve lived in LA for almost 14 years now. I’ve done a lot of stuff in those 14 years of living here. But until this past weekend, I had never been inside of the Staples Center. I’ve been near it and have gone to LA Live and the Convention Center. But I’ve just never seen anything at Staples Center.

So when one of my TIU friends shared online that they had box seats for a Sparks game, I jumped at the chance to go! My friend had gotten the seats through her job, she’s an assistant at CAA (for those of you not familiar with CAA, they are an agency that reps a lot of actors, musicians, and athletes). So I knew that the seats would be pretty awesome!

I took the light rail to Staples and my friend met me near by so we could drive in together (we didn’t want to not be able to find each other). We got there early since we were told that the doors opened 90 minutes prior to the game and lined up outside.

Staples Center

We kind of got the run-around by several employees of Staples Center. We switched where we had lined up 4 different times. And then we were told to finally go back to where we started, but we weren’t allowed in. They ended up opening the doors a little less than an hour prior to the start time and we headed up to the A-Level Suites.

There, we met Cruz, who honestly was the best employee at Staples Center! She gave us a little tour of the suite level and some of the different places we could hang out (sadly, many of them were closed since the game wasn’t that crowded). Then she led us to the suite we’d be sitting in. And I was shocked by how amazing our view was.

CAA Suite

We were pretty much dead center with a perfect view of the court! And we had the option to sit in regular style seats, at the bar seating, or a couple of different couches (there was a tv near the couches so you could still watch the game).

VIP Suite 2 VIP Suite

My friend and I were the only ones in the suite at that point and we knew it wouldn’t be catered, so we went in search of lunch. We ended up going back down to the main entrance where there was a CPK. We got a pizza and salad to split and went back up to the suite.

Eventually, a few other people joined us in the suite, but in total there were only 8 of us and I think the suite is meant for about 20.

Besides being my first time at Staples Center, this was my first professional basketball game ever! I have been to multiple college basketball games but never a professional one before. So I was pretty excited to watch the game. I’m still not 100% sure on all the different penalties, but I still enjoyed it.

Sparks Game

Plus, we got some pretty awesome hats as a giveaway for attending the game. We  had to search for the hats because they didn’t give them out at the VIP entrance, so we went to the main entrance and found some hats for us.

We Are LA

I think we looked pretty good in the hats.

With Catherine

In the end, the LA Sparks lost, but they played a good game and were winning until the last few minutes.

I had such an amazing time at the game. It was so nice being in the suite and having space without feeling like I was in the middle of the crowd. We were able to stand up and walk around if we wanted to and not worry about getting around other seats or blocking other’s views. I joked to my friend that by getting to sit there really did ruin me for any other events that I might go to in the future.

I’m so glad that I was able to go to this game with a friend, plus I got to know my new friend better. We had a really nice chat about the entertainment industry and her job at CAA.

This has motivated me to start making a list of other LA things that I haven’t done yet. I don’t know how many things I haven’t done yet, but I’m going to start looking around at lists of things to do in LA and see what I’ve missed that I really want to do (I think I’ll skip those bus tours of celebrity houses).

Maybe I’ll be able to create a nice LA bucket list that I can start checking things off of!