Tradition

Hot dogs, beer and America's favorite pastime. It has become tradition. My sister Beth, Ally and myself sit in the sun for three hours and watch the Nationals play on Opening Day. This past Monday was a bust for the Nats. But the beer was cold and the sun was warm so we were happy.

And speaking of beer, someone at RFK made the executive decision to stop selling beer in bottles. Now Beth and Ally love bottled beer, especially the lite kind. I, on the hand, prefer draft and something a little heavier --- Guinness, Harp, or an IPA will do. And lucky for me, the vendors at RFK have met my needs. When we arrived at the game on Monday I volunteered to get the first round. Remember, hot dogs, baseball AND BEER. So off I went in pursuit of the perfect draft and a couple of those lite bottles. I immediately found an IPA and began to quench my thirst. But those bottles, well they were no where to be found. Finally I asked a vendor where I could buy some bottled beer. He curtly responded --- no where. He was too busy pouring beer to be bothered with a petty question. I mean, beer is beer right? I don't think so.

Well after a long search I came up empty. So I hit the stands to see if there was a beer man selling bottles. Nope, only cans. When I questioned why he said they got sick of cleaning up bottles. So, is it easier to clean up plastic cups? And what about bottled water which is still sold? What, people who drink water won't trash the bottle in the stands? But in the end, to Beth and Ally's delight, there was one place that sold bottles.

I must admit though, it was a bittersweet experience. This will be the last opening day we spend in RFK. I won't be able to walk the ten blocks to the stadium. Or when I'm being excessively lazy --- drive and park because I have one sweet Zone 6 sticker on my windshield. I'm not even sure what Zone the new stadium is in, but I do know it will be a subway ride away. And they certainly are wasting no time putting that baby up. When I drive down the southeast southwest freeway I can see the upper deck reaching into the sky. Fans will certainly have a birds eye view of our Nation's Capitol. Ahh, change is hard.