Let's face it. Neither New York Mets nor Philadelphia Phillies advanced to the World Series 2013. However, whether you choose to cheer for St. Louis Cardinals or Boston Red Sox, we would like to share our fun-filled baseball trip with you.
Have you ever watched a baseball game at a ballpark or stadium? With Honors Program Director Dr. Ronald Walker and American Studies Associate Professor Dr. John Haddad as our guides, about fifty students hopped on the bus to Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park to enjoy a game of New York Mets against Philadelphia Phillies on this beautiful fall evening. While many of us are baseball fans and have watched a live game before, it is a brand new experience for some of us. Soon after Dr. Walker welcomed everyone aboard, Dr. Haddad gave us a brief history of baseball since the late nineteen century. We learned how the media turned baseball into a big part of popular culture in America as well as other countries influenced by American culture, such as Japan and Cuba. Prior to our arrival to Philadelphia, our baseball background knowledge was further enhanced by viewing Ken Burn's Baseball during the two-hour bus trip.
Sitting in Section 143, our group was joined by more than 33,000 enthusiastic fans at the Citizen Bank Park. Phillies fans had been patiently waiting for the Phillies in the first few innings because the Phillies was falling behind. Meanwhile, we saw how the baseball field was groomed every now and then while beer vendors were busily running up and down the aisles to satisfy eligible consumers. The climax came when Phillies' Darin Ruf had a three-run double during the fourth inning. Phillie Phanatic, the Phillies' mascot, made a brief appearance by riding on his all- terrain vehicle and dancing with the cheerleaders from Drexel University. Not long after the seventh inning stretch, some spectators realized that the Mets was likely the winner and they had better take off earlier to beat the traffic. Although the Mets topped the Phillies 6-4, our baseball experience did not end here. We concluded our Friday night with The Natural, a movie based on Bernard Malamud's baseball novel, on our way home.
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