Nats series roll call

[OFFNY]

I've been raving to my mom about the O's winning ways every night, so they better not disappoint. ;)Go O's!

That makes tonight a must-win game.

Done.

[allquixotic]

Done.

It was such a blast, man. I can't even put it in words... the game was close, it was competitive, it went into free baseball, we had beer, we had pretzels, we had pizza, we cheered and we booed, and in the end we jumped for joy and high-fived random Orioles fans in our immediate vicinity as Kakes hit his homer, then again when Strop closed the door.

You could feel the energy and the fanaticism about the team from the fans. There were chants of "Let's Go O's!" in the promenade as fans were exiting after the game ended. There were chants of "Let's Go O's!" on the green line baseball metro shuttle. And best of all, every single Nats fan I saw was a good sport and didn't threaten or act gloomy. They did sometimes jeer or jab at us but that was totally friendly competition.

It's good that we have a friendly competitive rivalry with the Nats, and not a "bad blood" rivalry. I don't want there to be a bad blood rivalry because then it would be more difficult to enjoy a game in DC. There's an extremely high probability that the Nats will win at least one of the remaining games in this series, though, so I don't think Nats fans have anything to worry about. A sweep is only a very remote possibility considering how evenly-matched these teams are playing right now.

I felt bad for the 11 year old behind me who was yelling "Let's Go Nats!" and other slogans fanatically throughout the game, but I don't think my cheering for the O's crushed him or anything... there were pockets of O's fans all throughout our section and neighboring sections, so it's not like it was just me and my mom cheering. I think he cried when the Nats lost, poor little guy... For a while I thought his yelling was a bit annoying as it was starting to get to me (he was practically yelling right in my ear), but I never turned around to say anything, figuring I didn't want to ruin his fun. He felt like the Nats were in the game up until the last out. And in truth, they really, really were. That bot 11 was touch and go for a while.

Thanks for all the little suggestions in this thread, guys. I had a gem of a night regardless, and Kakes hitting a game-winning home run and watching two of my favorite current O's pitchers -- Arrieta and Strop -- do a very good job on the mound, was just icing on the cake.

I'm tired, I'm full of junk food, I screamed and cheered until I practically lost my voice, my feet are KILLING me and I feel like I've been awake for 2 days straight... I'm going to get some sleep. But you better believe I'll be in the game thread tomorrow in time for the first pitch, and I'll be wearing my Orioles t-shirt that I wore to the game we won tonight, for good luck (I won't wash it, either!)

Cheers, guys. :smile11:

P.S. -- The Markakis home run was totally a called shot by my mom. That was the ONLY pitch the entire night that she said, exactly, "He's going to hit it out!" and on the very next pitch, he did. If that's not magic, I don't know what is.

[allquixotic]

Just as a heads up to people going there will be Metro track work this weekend on Orange and Green.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Weekend-Metro-Track-Work-151817105.html

I didn't see this when you posted it, but a fellow O's fan informed me while I was on the train that they were doing track work, and we did indeed encounter a 15-minute delay trying to get to Prince George's Plaza when leaving DC on the green line (destination Greenbelt). It wasn't a big deal though.

Thanks for the information! :thumbsup1:

[Frobby]

I already had tickets for Saturday and Sunday, but on the spur of the moment I took my son to this one, too. I purposely bought upper deck seats, knowing that I have primo tickets the next two days. I sat in the highest deck, parallel to the 3B bag, and the tix still cost $20 plus service fees that brought my total to $51 -- jeez! I had a great time there, and there were a good quantity of O's fans around me. If I were a Nats fan, I'd be a bit irked by how vocal the Oriole fans were, but they can return the favor next month, if they dare. Nice corwd of 36,680 on hand and it was fun to be in a stadium that full.

[Pedro Cerrano]

we had beer, we had pretzels, we had pizza, we cheered and we booed, and in the end we jumped for joy

For the record, if we are ever allowed to have signatures back, I'm using this. Amazing.

[square634]

Jim Hunter seemed to suggest that O's fans outnumbered Nats fans. I'm not sure that was the case, but they did seem more vocal. It's interesting that based on my TV viewing, the O's fans invading Nats park seemed louder and more prone to spontaneous chants than a game at OPACY.

[allquixotic]

Jim Hunter seemed to suggest that O's fans outnumbered Nats fans. I'm not sure that was the case, but they did seem more vocal. It's interesting that based on my TV viewing, the O's fans invading Nats park seemed louder and more prone to spontaneous chants than a game at OPACY.

Well we had to represent our team, you know?

Also don't forget that before the Nationals came down from Canada (they were the Expos), there were people quite a ways south / west of Baltimore who were rooting for the O's. A trip to OPACY is quite far for them, but a trip to Nats stadium is ~40-some miles closer. Maybe they found it worth the drive to a Washington metro station, but don't as often want to put in the gas for a trip all the way to Baltimore. Sometimes it's about cost, especially in this tough economy.

Although, whoa, before I wail away too strongly on cost, I forgot to mention the high ticket prices at Nats stadium. So maybe it isn't cost after all. Sorry, I've got nothing. :laughlol: The O's fans are just excited right now!

[allquixotic]

I already had tickets for Saturday and Sunday, but on the spur of the moment I took my son to this one, too. I purposely bought upper deck seats, knowing that I have primo tickets the next two days. I sat in the highest deck, parallel to the 3B bag, and the tix still cost $20 plus service fees that brought my total to $51 -- jeez! I had a great time there, and there were a good quantity of O's fans around me. If I were a Nats fan, I'd be a bit irked by how vocal the Oriole fans were, but they can return the favor next month, if they dare. Nice corwd of 36,680 on hand and it was fun to be in a stadium that full.

Good luck with the premo seats today and tomorrow! I'm sure your son must be excited My mom is getting up there in age so I don't think she has the stamina to trot out there another day this weekend, so we're calling it quits (she's in her upper 50s and starting to slow down). I'll be rooting for the O's vicariously through you, and at home in front of my LCD

[weams]

I already had tickets for Saturday and Sunday, but on the spur of the moment I took my son to this one, too. I purposely bought upper deck seats, knowing that I have primo tickets the next two days. I sat in the highest deck, parallel to the 3B bag, and the tix still cost $20 plus service fees that brought my total to $51 -- jeez! I had a great time there, and there were a good quantity of O's fans around me. If I were a Nats fan, I'd be a bit irked by how vocal the Oriole fans were, but they can return the favor next month, if they dare. Nice corwd of 36,680 on hand and it was fun to be in a stadium that full.

So very cool.

[weams]

My mom is getting up there in age so I don't think she has the stamina to trot out there another day this weekend, so we're calling it quits (she's in her upper 50s and starting to slow down).

I was enjoying reading about your exploits until this

[fansince1988]

Last night was by far the most fun I have had at an Os game in DC, or any game in DC for that matter. I was in the upper level and I'd estimate a 40-50% Orioles fans, I even saw a few Os fans keeping score. One observation over the years that I have noticed is that when the Nats are in Baltimore you may see 15% rooting for the Nats, if that.

[Frobby]

Went to all three games, and had a great time. Great crowds all three games. I will be interested to see what the crowds are like at the return series at OPACY.

Today before the game I was sitting 3 rows behind the Orioles dugout, and all of a sudden I saw a bunch of black fingers on the dugout roof from inside the dugout. Adam Jones does a chin-up pokes his head over the roof and yells "let's go!" to the crowd. That was pretty fun.

Tommy Hunter interacted with a lot of fans and got balls for a couple of kids during the game. I remember some Boston fan saying that Hunter hadn't been very nice to some kid up in Boston a few weeks ago. If so, I think he just caught Hunter at bad moment.

[Don_Aase_Fan]

Total attendance for the series: 120k

I'd absolutely love to see those kind of numbers at the Yard in late June.

[OFFNY]

.

I would like to personally thank each and every Oriole fan on the OH that attended any or all of the games this weekend. Much appreciated.

[Rene88]

We finally made it out today with the gf and a group of friends representing the Orange! It was a blast to start, but I wasn't terribly disappointed to see the Nats salvage a game. It was a beautiful day and I have never see Nats stadium (and the metro) so packed in my life! Amazing!