Is there anything more American than baseball? Apple pie, perhaps. Mall walking? Mexican food?…read more
Actually, there is not much baseball played at Krieg Field. In fact, I think it is strictly softball.
My husband plays on the softball team for Whole Foods. (GO HUGH!)
Once a week my darling husband dons his cleats, team shirt (the Ten Hit Misfits), shorts, and ball cap, sticks a six pack of Lone Star in a cooler and gathers up his glove and sunglasses for a few innings at the ball park. The closer we get to the field the more he fidgets until he's worked himself into such a state of softball fervor that when we arrive he leaps from the car to slap hands with teammates, swig from a can, and throw the softball around- he calls this part "warming up".
Now, some Austinites probably prefer the shiny newness of Dell Diamond, all of the concessions they have to offer, the cute uniforms the players wear, how fast they can throw the ball, etc, etc. While Krieg Field offers none of the above, true fans will appreciate the PASSION that the players here bring to the game. You can see it in the jaunty way they turn the bases, albiet middle-aged bellies jigglin and thighs-a-burnin. You can see it in the focus of the umps, all seriousness, spitting on the field, rubbing themselves, and shouting incoherently at the players. You can see it in the fans, all 5 of them, cheering and clapping and laughing hysterically at the foibles and often truly remarkable plays made by their significant others. (No, really.)
When a team wins, it is pure joy....beers passed around, all, "Did you see that slide? Man..." "Dude. I TOTALLY tagged him out! That was an OUT!" All hand slapping and "Good game!" and "Let's go to the bar!"
When teams lose, it is silent car rides home and regretful re-plays of mistakes made.
It's dirty bathrooms (minus one star), dirty players, BYOB, cool breezes and sunsets, FREE all-American hilarious and sometimes tragic FUN.
