What a night what a night. Alex Box Stadium welcomes back defending national champions, the LSU Tigers. I had planned on attending this game with my friend Chantal as a spectator, enjoying the opportunity to be an LSU student and cheer on the Tigers as they faced Centenary in the first game of the 2010 season. Clearly, this was going to be a big game.
I planned to arrive at the field around 5pm for a 7pm first pitch. Sounds crazy, right? Think again. Students had been lining up outside Alex Box since around lunchtime that day. Hundreds and hundreds of students were already in line when I arrived. Oh well, I was willing to wait. As the winding line inched forward at a snail's pace, the time neared 6 o'clock. That's when a guy passing us walking back to his car hollered that it was "standing room only" now. Well darn. I had my press pass so I could get in... but I didn't want to force Chantal to stand the whole game. She really wasn't even that into baseball to begin with. So I took her home.
I raced back to my dorm, grabbed my camera bag, and I was back to the Box. I mean, this is baseball we're talking about. I wasn't about to miss out on Opening Night.
I hadn't planned on shooting that game, so my batteries weren't charged. Needless to say, my camera was dead by the third inning. It was cold. Martin and I were hungry. So after watching Louis Coleman throw out the first pitch, and a record-crowd cheer on the Tigers in a sluggish start against Centenary, Martin and I left to go get dinner. I did catch up with the game later on and discovered the Tigers squeaked by in the 9th to win 5-4. It was sloppy. But they got the job done. (They would later roll to a 25-8 win the following evening)
Overall, good day. It's baseball season ladies and gentlemen. Grab your peanuts, your cap, and a six-pack. Sit back, and enjoy America's game.
