The Twins!

So, this week, I made my annual trip to Target Field to take in a pro baseball game played by the Minnesota Twins!

I'm only sort of joking that it's my "annual" trip. I know the Twins play dozens of home games each year and I could easily go more often. In fact, when I was in grad school, I did go more often. Tickets were cheaper then, and I was attending school near the stadium. It was just easier then to round up friends and make the trek, get student tickets, watch drunken undergrads and enjoy dollar hot dogs. Over time, though, things have changed. I began working way outside the city, so getting downtown for a 7:10 game requires planning and perseverance (to handle the snarled traffic). The Twins demanded, and got, a new stadium so the prices of tickets and concessions have gone up.

The Twins used to play at the Metrodome. You might remember it from this:

Now, the Twins play at Target Field, an outdoor stadium on the other side of downtown. As much as I sometimes gripe about how silly it is for us to have an outdoor stadium, it really is pretty neat.

I went to Friday's game with some friends from grad school. I had spent the whole day, as we all had, wondering if the game was going to be miserable. The weather had been drizzly and humid and cold all day. But, as happened last year, just before the game was due to start things became great! So, we sat in the outfield and watched the Twins lose by 1 in the 10th inning. Take me out to the ball game!