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| It was about a mile away, but in a straight line, so easy to find. I needed a meal, but all the restaurants were full of people with the same idea. Eventually I passed a hotel advertising a Chinese restaurant inside, so I investigated, and found it half empty. The food was excellent, but a starter and a main course was enough for three, and I was unable to finish, thus condemning another section of the sub-continent to a grisly death. Erik was waiting at gate B as promised, and handed over the ticket. It contained two surprising pieces of information; the price, $225, and the word "roof". So I entered, found the stairs, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed! The seat was in right field, level with the foul pole, and right at the back; behind me just a long drop into the street. I wandered around, admiring the Boston skyline. The Prudential Insurance building obviously has a very enterprising caretaker; the top 20 floors had the lights of carefully selected offices turned on, to spell the words "Go Sox". So there I was, in a World Series game. One way and another, it turned out to be quite a musical evening. As part of the warm up, the p.a. played Sergeant Pepper, while the scoreboard somehow linked the lyrics of each track to the Red Sox; a bit contrived but an entertaining way of passing 45 minutes. The organist was also on splendid form, treating us to a variety of pieces, some expected, some not. Have you ever heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" played on an organ? The game was all about pitching; Jimenez for Colorado, Schilling, veteran of two World Series wins, for Boston. Colorado got off the mark quickly; Taveras was hit by a pitch, and a single from Holliday and a ground out from Helton scored him. The pitchers took control until the fourth, when a sacrifice fly from Varitek levelled the scores. A double from Lowell in the fifth gave Boston the edge, 2-1. With one man out in the sixth, and two men on base, Schilling exited the game to a standing ovation. His replacement was Okajima, the less celebrated of Boston's Japanese imports, thought to be a possible weak link. He excelled himself, dismissing the next seven batters without giving up a hit before leaving to his own standing ovation. That left the closer, Papelbon (entrance music, "Wild Thing) to finish off. He gave up a hit to the first man he faced, Holliday, but then, for the first time in his Boston career, picked him off at first to get out of the inning. Some baseball parks have a relationship with a particular piece of music, with the link not always being obvious. In Fenway, at the end of the eighth, they play Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". After the words "Sweet Caroline" the p.a. is killed for the three brass notes, and the crowd fills in with "Oh, oh, oh". The song follows with "Good times never felt so good", and the crowd echoes "So good, so good, so good". The crowd loves it, particularly when a tense finish is at hand. Papelbon, roared on by the crowd, dismissed three straight in the ninth, the third to a 99 m.p.h, fastball. The crowd went home smiling, and Boston goes to Denver with a 2-0 lead. So that the West Coast can view at a reasonable time, these games are starting ridiculously late. This one finished at 12.15. So, after walking back to the car and driving back to Needham, it is 1.15 by the time I creep into the home of my hosts, who have thoughtfully left the back door open and a couple of lights on. As I tiptoe upstairs I feel just like a naughty teenager.... but where would I find one at this time of the morning? |
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