24 Days 'til Opening Day

But since we can't wait that long, we are officially attending the 2nd annual Civil Rights Game in Memphis TN, at 4 PM on Saturday, March 29th. We're both really excited for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that we haven't attended a ballgame in 5 1/2 months. Since my last post, Erik has taken a job in Farmington NM, which effectively puts him about 3 hours from any baseball team (Albuquerque Isotopes) and about 90 minutes from anything resembling civilization (Santa Fe). So he undoubtedly will be ecstatic about seeing one of his few baseball games until mid-June when his job ends, and about seeing buildings over 3 stories tall not made of adobe. Nothing much has changed with me, still working a lot; I am particularly excited for the trip because average temps in Memphis for that time of year are near 70, which will be a 40+ degree difference to what the weather is like in Milwaukee in early March. Also, bars close at like 4 or 5 in the morning every weekend on Beale, so we are very pro-that.

Of course the game will be amazing. Even though I already have 21 games slated to attend this year at minimum, the first is always special. But the atmosphere of this place for this weekend, one of the birthplaces of civil rights in America, should be really unique and unparalleled. I have previously been to Memphis in the dead of winter and in the ungodly heat of summer, and even at both extremes the pride of the city is apparent. The game is followed by a dinner at the National Civil Rights Museum, and there will be guest speakers and events all weekend that I'm sure we'll attend. Besides the token Graceland trip (we'll actually go inside this time since Erik was never there), we're looking forward to celebrating how far this country has come the past 40 years since Dr. King's tragic death in Memphis (the Civil Rights Museum actually flanks the hotel where he was shot). The weekend is also, sadly, about recognition about how far we still have to go. Thankfully, there are many awesome blues cafes and bars within walking distance of the museum and the stadium, so as not to put too somber a tone on the festivities. It should be a wild weekend, hopefully crowded with tourists and fans that we can meet and talk to about our life's ambition to see baseball in just about every form all over the world.

Erik will obviously be flying in, and I have chosen to navigate Old Yeller down yet another stretch of American highway for 9 hours, since our hotel is like 12 miles from the park...although I'm sure it will be left downtown most of the time anyways since we'll clearly need to cab it back to the room. We leave on Thursday the 27th and return the 30th, hopefully in time to catch the first Sunday Night Baseball broadcast of the spring. Next post after we return!