St. Patrick's Day today. It is a major event down here as it is in many locations, especially in an area with a large vacation crowd of young people along with some older people who should know better but sometimes celebrate to excess. As veterans of younger experiences we now fall into another category - the early to bed crowd, regardless of the holiday.
The game today against the Yankees is the biggest spring training game of the year. It was also the largest crowd of the season with over 11,000 people attending. The Phillies wear special green jerseys with their uniform, the crowd wears various combinations of green Philly attire and Irish music was played before and during the game. Even the Philly Phanatic had a special green costume today.
The pregame ceremonies were highlighted the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Parachute Team landing on the field. There were three parachutists, each carrying a large flag. The first was the American Flag, followed by a Phillies Flag, and then a POW Flag in remembrance of Vietnam Era POWS and missing military service members.
My Sister Eileen also attended the game today. She is a Yankee fan and cheered (politely) as the hated Yankees won the game (again). Nevertheless, everyone had a good time on a special spring training game day.
After the game, Kevin treated us all to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Bonefish Grill. It is a great restaurant that is part of a regional chain that features seafood with a special flair, as well as great steaks. We all had a fantastic meal in a special place.
After dinner Eileen headed back north to Crystal River and we went back to the hotel/RV well ahead of a lot of others who we were sure were just getting started celebrating their actual or presumed Irish heritage for the day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment