This will have to fall under the category of "Better Late Than Never."The Cleveland Indians Home Opener was on April 10th this year. Each year, friends come together from near and far to frequent a couple Cleveland institutions - Great Lakes Brewing Company and Jacobs Field (it will always be Jacobs Field to me.)
Once again, Mother Nature intervened to make things interesting. Not even the "Lucky Poncho" could hold back the rain this year. A side note - one of the crew has a poncho that is still in its original packaging. To be honest, the chemical composition of this thing has probably changed over time. In the past, the presence of the poncho was able to ward off rain. It didn't work this time around.
The day began at Great Lakes Brewing Company. A total of 12 of us spent a few hours there before game time. There were a couple of us that didn't drink. After some great appetizers, food and copious amounts of fermented water, the total (with tip) came to about $500...nice. I don't remember all of the specifics but recall six pitchers of Burning River Pale Ale (known as BuRPA by some), a couple pitchers of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, close to a dozen snifters of Blackout Stout, etc.So...it was time to catch the Great Lakes Brewing shuttle over to the Jake. The shuttle is called the "Fatty Wagon" because it is powered by vegetable oil. For $1, the shuttle will take you to the Jake and bring you back. Unfortunately, the Fatty Wagon didn't appear to be in service that day. Instead, a boring, extended-length van was used.
Here was a little banter while waiting for the van:
The substitute transportation didn't offer the same capacity as the Fatty Wagon. For that reason, the line for the shuttle was longer than normal. Never fear, where there's a Miglin there's a way. Most TV commercials for mini-vans boast seating capacities of 5 - 6 - 7 people. Not this mini-van - 12 adults made the short journey to the Jake (insert your best sardine cliche here.) The videos don't do this justice:
Once we arrived near the Jake, we climbed out of the mini-van. It had to look like numerous circus clowns getting out of a small car. A small group walking by took note of the number of people. They were impressed when we told them 12 of us were in there.
We made our way to our seats and settled in amidst shaky weather. One thing of note - a couple members of our crew fell asleep during the game. I won't mention any names but wonder if some sanctions should be levied against the culprits?
The game entered a delay in the fifth inning. We stayed up until that point. The weather wasn't looking very promising so we headed on to Painesville to visit family.
Needless to say - a few pints of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream were re-located to Dublin.The Indians would end up losing 13-7 after 7+ hours (including the delay.)
It was great seeing the gang again. I look forward to doing it all again next year.
