My first trip to a Phillies game was in the magical 1980 season. May 25, 1980 to be exact. I remember seeing Garry Maddux hitting a homerun. Which was followed a couple innings later with back to back homers from Mike Schmidt and Greg "The Bull" Luzinski. I also remember receiving a three quarter sleeve t-shirt that said "Property of Philadelphia Phillies" at the door, and I was blown away. Here I was fulfilling a 6 year old (almost 7) dream and they were going to GIVE me a t-shirt too! From then on I was HOOKED!!

So it is NO surprise that I was extremely excited to open up the brand new ball park. That it was an exhibition mattered not. In fact it was better that the game didn't count. Since you could focus on the experience of the new stadium, rather than what was happening on the field. (Although, the field play didn't disappoint either!)

Another important part of the American tradition of going to a baseball game is family. And the ballpark has no end in features for families. I had the opportunity to take my entire family to the ball game, to repay my parents for taking my sister and I to our first game at the vet, I brought along, my sister and her fiancee, my parents and my girlfriend. So let me give you a quick rundown of the highlights of the day.

• The buzz on the Subway was palpable. The excitement built as we exited the station and were greeted by the standard array of merchandise hawkers, and scalpers
• The jarring site of the rubble left behind by The Vet, stirred some weird emotions. It reminded me of what Baghdad might look like.
• That scene slowly melted as we approached The Cit. While not as menacing or ominous as the vet, the spectacle outside was chaotic as people tried to figure out what was Architecture and what was the entrance.
• The big statues outside the Vet were meeting places and always the backdrop for pictures. And already people were jumping up to get photos taken with the statue of Mike Schmidt that marks the Home Plate entrance. The statue too, did not seem to loom nor menace as the seemingly Greek inspired statues that will return to grace the Vet Parking lot used to do.
• The ticket taking machines that work similar to some subways, caused my girlfriend to search for her ticket to come out the other side "like they do on the London Underground".
• Getting to our centerfield seats proved troublesome as the crowds of people hitting the walkways to stand in line for food and other concessions. So many people, so little room. Mostly that kind of problem should dissipate as people begin to figure out HOW to get to their seats. (I don't remember seeing a map of the entrances outside the stadium, but they should get one. Perhaps printing the closest entrance on the tickets would be helpful.)
• My girlfriend noted that the toilets in the bathroom next to the Make your Phanatic along the 3rd Base side were already leaking and that there was no soap in the dispensers. Bathrooms closer to Centerfield also leaked but there was soap.
• The opening ceremonies were boring early on and the video displaying the history of the construction was Mr. Sandman fodder, but it did bring a huge cheer for both Bill Giles and Ed Wade (who mouthed the word "wow" for his ovation. (Does anyone else miss the days when the GM's are booed unmercifully?) Jim Thome got a huge ovation which had to drown out the RESOUNDING Boo's heard by the Mayor Street. I haven't heard boo's that loud since Scott Rolen's appearance here last year.
• Lines for the Premium food items were very long. And even for the regular items like Grilled Foot Long Hot Dogs took me away from the game for over an inning.
• The long lines proved beneficial however, as my Mom (a self-described bad luck charm) was out of her seat for both Jim Thome and Pat Burrell's home runs.
• Speaking of Home Runs. Thome's blast illicited goosebumps and a Curtain Call from the crowd. And Pat Burrell seemed to exorcise some demons has he celebrated his 3 run blast with a Fist Pump during his curtain call. Are any two players on this team linked as much as Thome and Burrell are? The fans patience with Burrell has been tempered by their joy for Thome. Were this still Rolen's team, Burrell could have been following the Del Ennis path.
• There were some hiccups on the screens and various scoreboards. The big scoreboard above Phanavision mistakenly showed the home run totals for RBIs. This was corrected later in the game. The Speed Pitch and type of pitch went through similar growing pains that seemed to be corrected by end of game. The lack of a scoreboard for outfield fans looking towards homeplate was troubling. The mark of the Vet which needed to keep score for both football and baseball, had better views. Perhaps this will be fixed. (Fortunately, for me, my Sunday plan seats are between Home Plate and First Base.
• The biggest cheers of the day? Thome's Home Run, Burrell's Home Run, Thome's speaking in the Opening Ceremonies, and The Sun's appearance which helped warm the outfield crowd.
• And is it just me, or shouldn't a chant of "COCO", "COCO" -- reminsicent of the chants Philly fans gave Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson -- for Centerfield Coco Crisp? And too bad Milton Bradley was demoted (before being traded to the Dodgers). And by the way, believe me Boston fans, who think they invented baseball as well as heckling, Wilson and Strawberry were playing in Philly 9 times a year before the 86 World Series.

HammLinks: Around the Web

• Philly.com: Thumbs Up
• Philly.com: House Beautiful
• Changing Skyline | Park sports thrills, not frills
• Retrosheet.org: Box Scores from history!