Had a quick, but action packed 2 day trip out to Dallas. The main purpose of the trip was to catch 2 of the Rangers World Series games, and an added bonus ended up being getting to the new Cowboys Stadium. My old roommate (and friend from back home) and I were both able to book free flights out to Dallas. I was able to purchase World Series tickets for Game 4 and Game 5 through the Braves. Along with the free flight, I had a friend who lives in Dallas and we were able to stay with him for free. After all of this had been decided/booked, we discovered the Cowboys would be at home to face the Jaguars. Unfortunately, it is really expensive to go see games at this venue.... most of the lower bowl sells for $300 per ticket just to give you an idea. Fortunately though, the perfect storm of circumstances had happened and we were able to find cheap tickets....... The Cowboys are horrible, their quarterback got hurt the week before, they were playing a bad opponent, and most people were probably more interested in the World Series game later that night...... this helped us get 50 yard line seats, at the very top of the stadium, normally priced at about $100 each..... we paid $40 each (including all stubhub service fees). Here is a view of the scoreboard and our seats.
The scoreboard is so incredible, that you end up watching the game there instead of looking at the field itself. The Cowboys got smoked by the Jaguars. It was so bad that with 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the crowd started chanting "Lets go Rangers"!!!
We had a few hours to waste, and we did so by walking about a mile to a Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the late NFL games. Then it was time to walk over to The Ballpark at Arlington..... the 5th new baseball stadium this season for me, and 22nd all time. It was Halloween, so of course I had to dress up. I brought my Kenny Powers hat/mullet and jersey. Several people walking by would yell "Hey Kenny Powers" at me, and a couple guys even stopped to take my picture. Later on, I even came across another guy dressed as KP.
The crowd ended up being pretty quiet over the course of the 2 games I saw, but I can't say I blame them.... they only managed about 6 hits, 1 run, and never was winning during games 4 and 5. It also made me a little sad to look over behind home plate in the upper deck and see the 200 or so Giants employees/friends/families.... could have been the Braves. They did impress me though.... those 200 Giants employees/fans were louder than most of the 50,000 Rangers fans most of the time. After they brought out the giant American flag,
I got to watch George W. Bush (with George H.W. Bush standing nearby) throw out the first pitch to HOF pitcher Nolan Ryan. Interesting piece of information.... this is the third time I've seen George W. Bush throw out a first pitch at a baseball game..... first ever game at Miller Park, first ever game at Nationals Park, and Game 4 of 2010 World Series.
Game 4 was pretty boring since the home crowd never had anything to cheer for, but its cool to think that I saw one of the most dominant performances by a rookie pitcher in a World Series game (Madison Bumgarner).I was very excited heading into Game 5 on Monday night. Cliff Lee vs Tim Lincecum would be the pitching matchup, and I would have the chance to watch a team clinch the World Series. There was a cool sunset just before the game and I said to my friend, "Is this the sun setting on the Rangers season tonight?"
It ended up being a great pitching matchup, as the only runs of the game were scored on a late inning 3 run home run, by former Brave and eventual WS MVP Edgar Renteria. Well, I got my wish. I got to say I was there to watch a team celebrate a World Series Championship.
I'd say it was a great trip.
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