Freeway Series

So the Angels lost on Saturday in a historic no hit game against the Dodgers. And it was painful to watch. And as usual, I was miffed anyway that it's seemingly impossible to get to the Dodgers stadium via public transportation. Or really, just impossible, period. The day the stadium reinstates public transit access will be the day that I wholeheartedly agree that it's indeed a family friendly environment.

The super dogs and garlic fries, on the other hand, did NOT disappoint.

Either way, I think it's a great idea that the Dodgers and Angels play one another in the annual Freeway Series. Because really, despite seeing the Angels lose, I love the idea of being able to attend a baseball game with ALL of my Dodgers and Angels rooting friends... and rubbing it in their faces when the Angels DO win. All in the name of fun, of course.

-Sarah Koo, ExperienceLA Marketing Assistant

Thinking Blue... Almost

I'll be honest. I am not an avid baseball fan, and to the horror of my die hard baseball loving friends, I freely admit my allegiance to both the Dodgers and the Angels (and I'll maybe even throw in a little Red Sox love depending on the game). To my defense, living outside of the West coast meant taking whatever allegiance I could with the West, be it one or several teams. My theory was that as long as any California team made it to the finals, I'd be happy. Oh, and the Red Sox love is just my personal mix of Boston nostalgia and underdog favoritism.

Uh, moving along now (before I keep digging myself into a bigger hole)...

Anyway, on the contrary, if there's a chance to go to a live game, I'd be a fool to pass up on it. Why? Because it's not "just a game". It's so much more than that. Superdogs with a side of garlic fries, joining in on the multiple attempts at a successful stadium wave, collectively booing Heidi and Spencer from The Hills as their presence at the game was highlighted on the Jumbotron... such unadulterated bliss indeed.

And avid fan or not, tough luck to the fool who tries to distract me while I'm focused on the game... you might as well befriend your cracker jack. The Dodgers game last Monday lasted until 10:30pm, but with a tied score and bases loaded at the bottom of the ninth, and the rookie Blake DeWitt's single that helped win the game, was that a great game or what?

My only complaint is that it's seemingly impossible to get to the Dodgers Stadium via public transportation. In fact, it's easier to hop on the Metrolink and get dropped right off at the Angels Stadium down in Orange County. Sigh. If only thinking blue would lead to thinking green...


-Sarah Koo, ExperienceLA Marketing Assistant

Take Me Out To...Dodger Stadium

There's nothing like watching a baseball game at the stadium. Prior to last night, it had been years since I had attended one. But it's an experience that I know I ought to partake in more often because I love baseball and I love watching the game unfold right before my eyes in midst of a crowd of fans in an open air stadium (while I'm at it, can college football season start up again?!).

The LA-area is home to two baseball teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I'll be honest in my picking of sides: Los Angeles Dodgers all the way.

A fixture in the Los Angeles landscape is Dodger Stadium, situated just north of the Downtown landscape, and its where my friends Jason and Jessie managed to get some great tickets to the Dodgers vs. Padres game. My friend Jay and I managed to come along for the unexpected Friday night out.

How great were the tickets? The picture accompanying this post is without zoom. I was that close to the action out on the field. We were in foul ball catching territory. In fact, during the game someone caught one a few rows in front of us (and man, did we wish one of us had been in reach). It was perhaps the closest I have ever sat at a baseball game (usually I'm in those nosebleed seats), so that definitely contributed to the excitement of my first baseball game in ages.

I'm not sure I can really describe that sense of feeling of being at a baseball game - it seems to be something that either people understand thoroughly or not at all. There's just this rush of feeling being surrounded by so many fans young and old decked out in team colors and memorabilia as vendors make their way on narrow stair aisles selling Crackerjacks, ice cream, and peanuts (and, believe it or not, CPK pizza - not sure about that one...). There's nothing like having a hot dog - the "no contest in how good it is" Dodger dog - piled high with tangy red ketchup, golden mustard, the sweet and sour taste of relish, and chopped white onion, accompanied with a plate of crispy garlic fries. There's nothing like hearing the roar of the crowd through nine innings as the players run across home base, as the batter cracks that ball with his bat and a stadium-full of people follow in anticipation of a cheer or a necessary chorus of 'boos'. There's nothing like mutual disdain about umpire calls, because the they're always wrong when you don't like them, even when they're right.

There has to be something about that game - whether it be baseball or football, whatever it is that fills that stadium. Why else then would people run through the hectic swirl of traffic to and from the venue, bring their kids in tow with blankets on cold nights where even then they'll ask for ice cream, get caught up in making sure they wear the right colors in shirts and hats and pins, so sure that their team is the "right" team...

Yes, there's nothing like experiencing a baseball game in a stadium.

-Charity Tran, ExperienceLA Web Coordinator