Birthday Dodger Game

Earlier this week was Mom's birthday and we celebrated at the Dodger game. It wasn't just any Dodger game, no no. We weren't in our own regular box seats. We got to sit in my uncles seats in the Dugout Club. He treats us to his Dugout Club tickets a few times a year and it's always a real special night. The celebs, the view.... THE FOOD.

My dad always insists on being the first in the gate at Chavez Ravine and it's no different on Dugout Club nights. He wants to maximize our time in the dining room so we can grab a good table and space out our rounds and rounds of very delicious grub.

There are always specialty dishes in the club. On Wednesday night, it was lamb and cous cous and pastas. But the old tried and true dishes, the ones they always serve, are our favorite. I don't know what kind of bird they're seasoning, but the turkey at the carving station just melts in your mouth. It's really phenomenal. There are always grilled vegetables that taste like candy -- a medley of all my favorites: bell pepper, onions, asparagus and carrots! Mmmmm!!! I love the salad bar, too -- a variety of freshly tossed, crisp salads that I wouldn't mind munching on forever.

This whole smorgasbord sprinkled with celebrity sightings (the guy who played Arliss and Pete Rose were there that night. Larry King, Mary Hart, Jane Seymour, Ian Ziering and Pat Sajak usually make appearances too) makes for a very satisfying pre-game show of its own kind. However, on Wednesday night's game against the Reds, we didn't see too many "people" so we took silly pictures in the club and enjoyed each other's company instead!

After we indulged, we made it outside to the seats which are, for lack of a better word, phenomenal: First row, right behind home plate = always on TV. That means, we have to be very selective about what we eat and how we eat it! The whole world can see us pigging out and boy is it easy to pig out. There are waiters in the dugout club seats who come to you, take your order, and bring it to you. You just tip the guy at the end of the night since the price of food is already included in the tickets (which aren't exactly cheap, the way I understand it). These waiters in the dugout club are constantly serving celebrities and must make out pretty good each night in tips. Remind me to see if they are hiring!

It was a little tricky to eat and enjoy, though, since it was SO WINDY!! Things were flying around in the seats and on the field. Dust was zooming around in my eyes and in my mouth. It was pretty gross, actually, and VERY annoying. As you can see, I was not impressed:

The camera obviously can't capture how windy it was, but I found myself eating my hair a lot, until I put it up in a ponytail! It was crazy, though! People's napkins and sauce packets were getting some big air and slapping fellow patrons in the faces.

But then Blake DeWitt would come up to bat and everything would be okay. Sigh. I like him.

He joins the collection of Dodger crushes I've had in year's past. The list has been compiled with names like Brett Butler, Eric Karros, Shawn Green, Greg Maddux, Bill Mueller, and most recently Andre Ethier (who I still kind of love and am two-timing with Blake DeWitt).

Post game, Andre:

 

But I digress. Baseball isn't all about food and boys in tight pants (okay, yes it is). We had a lot of fun and saw some plays. Happiness:

After lots of details I am too girly to effectively explicate play-by-play, I'm happy to say that the Dodgers won and beat the Reds. Yay!

And the end of the game means more pictures! We always snap away to take advantage of how close we are to real Dodger Dirt.

After the game, we hung around and watched the stadium clear out. Then, we stood in the hallway where the players come out of the clubhouse and pass the entrance of the dugout club. We joined the crowd and waited and waited. It was the baseball version of what I do after the theater and meet my favorite actors at the stage door!

Brad Penny came out and people hollered and hollered for some love, but he pretended to be on his cell phone and gave no love. Figures.

Then, Matt Kemp came out and was so friendly and nice. He spent a good amount of time signing autographs, chatting and snapping pictures -- including....

I think I've decided that Andre and Blake have good company. I like Matt Kemp close up too.

James Loney came out next. He was really sweet, but shy, and didn't hang around very long for pictures but we played paparazzi and I got a shot of him between the 2 girls in front of me.

Last to come out was Jeff Kent, who, as usual, was a big a-hole. People called his name and he waved his arm like "bah! go away!" and didn't really seem to have the whole "America's Favorite Pasttime" vibe. Disappointing. This helped to confirm my dad and B's decision that LaRoche should replace Kent.

We had a really fun night and even though it wasn't a very conventional birthday for Mom, we all had a good time by stuffing our faces, seeing a good game, meeting some Dodgers and hanging out with family!

Happy birthday, mom!!