If you know our family, it is no surprise that Sydney loves baseball. Well, if you know my Dad you understand why my sister and I are kind of rabid sports fans. So it was only natural that this should be passed onto the next generation.
Although, to clarify- Sydney doesn't like all baseball. She likes the ValleyCats. That's the Tri-City ValleyCats, a single A minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros. The ValleyCats play in Troy, NY. The stadium is about five minutes from Sydney's house. The ValleyCats are true 'boys of summer'. They play mid June until the first week of September. Some of these players are fresh out of college.
Sydney is a HUGE ValleyCats fan. She understands being a loyal fan too. She will tell you she doesn't like the Yankees, she likes the ValleyCats. She doesn't understand that they are in two different leagues, so it's ok to like them both. She also doesn't like the Packers (or the Bears). She likes the ValleyCats. No, she loves the ValleyCats. She is as passionate about the ValleyCats as I am about Notre Dame or the Canadiens. I wanted to go to a game with her while I was home. They had fireworks after the games on July 4 and July 5, so we decided to make a family outing and go on July 5.
Sydney has been going to ValleyCat games for a couple of years. This was Drew's first game. And mine! I have to say it really was an enjoyable experience. I don't like watching baseball in person- I would rather have the play by play commentary on TV. Everything about these games though are geared towards families. We were barely through the door and Dad had me sign up to be the designated driver. You put your name on a list, along with your driver's license number. Then they give you a red wristband to wear. This means that you cannot be served alcohol. The stadium gives you free soda if you are the designated driver. I thought that was a nice touch.
Then it was Sydney, dragging me to the children's play area. You buy tickets and then can use the tickets to play a couple of games. One was a batting game, another was the ring toss. There is also a bouncy house which you can use your tickets for. The children can win prize tickets at the two games, and then there is a prize area where you can redeem your tickets for prizes. There's a wheel to spin to earn coupons for free candy, pizza, soda, or ice cream. Sydney really enjoys the wheel. She kept spinning trying to win a free ice cream, and all she got was candy. The lady running the wheel finally gave her an ice cream coupon because she kept trying. Sydney kept trying the ring toss too. She wasn't having a lot of luck, so she had me try. I've never been good at the ring toss. I didn't win anything. She had Mom try. Mom didn't win anything. Then her parents came over with Drew and Andy gave it a try. Still nothing. Sydney was getting very frustrated, so she sent her parents over to get PopPop (my Dad). Dad normally does really well at the ring toss. He tried several times, but it wasn't our night to win anything.
While Sydney played Drew had fun watching her. He's still too young for the children's area- but he kept a close eye on her. He also seemed to enjoy watching all the people. As it neared the start of the game, we convinced Sydney to leave the children's area. We did this by promising to take her to the gift shop. Even at a baseball game, you can shop. In the gift shop, she asked if she could have baseball cards. Mom bought her a pack of cards and a binder to keep them in. The next day Sydney put her cards in the binder and was proudly showing them off. Of course we had to get something for Drew in the gift shop. Mom bought an AAA (Aunt Amy Approved) noisemaker- clapping hands. If you wave the hands, they clap and make noise. Mom bought them so they would annoy my sister! That's the way I think too! Drew very quickly figured out his clapper hands and amused his mother with them. In the gift shop, the children can color a picture for Southpaw- the
ValleyCats' mascot. There is even a mailbox, and you put your picture
or note to Southpaw in the mailbox. How cute!
After playing and shopping, it was time to get dinner. Laura asked Drew if he wanted a hot dog, or chicken fingers, or french fries. He said no to everything. Mom, Sydney, and I took everyone's order and went to the concession stand. On the way back to our seats, Andy was walking with Drew. Drew saw us walking with the food and immediately turned to follow us. I was carrying some food in my left hand above my head, and my chicken tenders in my right hand down near my hip as I maneuvered through the crowd. Drew reached his hand into my chicken tenders and held on to the chicken as we walked back to our seats. I handed them to my sister and told her 'These are Drew's'. She looked at me quizzically and said 'Were they yours?' I told her yes, but I would go get more. Which I did. The look on Drew's face as we walked past him with food was hysterical, and then that little hand grabbing the chicken fingers- makes me laugh every time I think of it. I think he would have followed those chicken fingers anywhere!
Sydney ran into one of her friends, Chloe, at the game. When Sydney talks, she is very animated. She gestures with her head and hands a lot as she talks. Watching Sydney and Chloe talk I realized it wasn't just Sydney. Chloe did it too. They acted like teenagers gossiping and catching up on things. It was cute watching them.
In the stadium, nearly every seat is in the foul ball zone. At one point in the game, a foul ball was coming right towards us. Sydney was standing next to Dad on the stairs, talking to Chloe and her father. As the ball came towards us, Laura was worried about protecting Drew and Sydney. Dad jumped up to try to catch the ball and as he stood up the ball bounced into his seat and then off over the stairs. It felt like life was moving in slow motion. We watched the ball bounce off Dad's seat, over the railing for the stairs, and it was headed right towards Sydney. Chloe's dad had a glove, and he reached out his gloved hand over Sydney's head and caught the ball. When Sydney came back to her seat, Dad apologized for not catching the ball. Sydney said "It's ok. Chloe's dad saved me!"
Between the innings, there are a lot of activities to keep you entertained. There are the ketchup, mustard, and hot dog races, competitions between fans, the mayors' race (similar to the ketchup race, but it involves caricatures of area mayors). It really was a lot of fun. Oh and then there are the mascots. When we walked in, there was a guy dressed as Uncle Sam. I just had to have my picture taken with him, so Sydney, Drew, and I posed with him. Sydney collects the autographs of the various mascots. During the game, she saw Rowdy the Rat. I have to explain this- Albany has a minor league hockey team. They used to be known as the River Rats. Rowdy was their mascot. Apparently now he hangs out at the ValleyCats games. Sydney told me she didn't have Rowdy's autograph. I grabbed her hand and we went running after Rowdy. Mom followed with Sydney's autograph book. I yelled at Rowdy to get his attention. He went into the locker room but held up his hand to wait a minute. We waited and Rowdy came back. Sydney was able to get his autograph, and I took their picture. When we got back to our seats, she was very happy. I told her I'm such a cool Aunt, that I will chase after giant rats for her.
It feels like we ate all night. There were chicken fingers, hot dogs, french fries, Stromboli (which was really a great deal- they custom make it for you in whatever flavor you want) and then of course, ice cream. The stadium is beautiful. It holds about 4500 people, and really, for a A baseball team, it's a wonderful venue. Very clean and family friendly. I would really encourage any friends in the area to go.
Andy took Drew home around 9pm. He didn't want to go, but by the time Andy left the parking lot, Drew was asleep. The rest of us stayed for fireworks. When the fireworks were over, we took my sister home and then headed back to Mom's. It was nearing 11pm, but Sydney was wide awake in the back of the car. It was a fun evening and a great way to spend time with the family.
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