It's always bittersweet when the Hogs baseball season starts to wind down. While we normally know whether or not we'll be playing on into June sometimes we are on the bubble to host one of the sixteen NCAA College World Series Regionals. This year, we had a chance to win the SEC-West or a chance to not even make the conference tournament, comprised of the top 8 teams in the league. One of the highlights of the weekend was that Lona was going to be in town from Little Rock on business and was joining me at Thursday night's opening game of the series with Ole Miss. Also that afternoon I received the email from the U of A Ticket Office notifying me that if I wanted my seats if the University was awarded a Regional series at Baum I'd better let them know. I was stunned when I saw the seat numbers on the website.. Sec 110, Row Q, Seats 17-18. I was going to get side-by-side seats for the Regional! Oh my gosh! How did that happen? I'd been trying to get side-by-side seats for years! You see, when I first ordered my ticket, yes ticket, I asked for only a single because it always seemed difficult to round up an extra person when I want to go years ago when a group of us had season tickets back in the pre-Baum days of George Cole Field. That first season I didn't manage to make it to a single game - there was always some sort of conflict or I was just plain pooped. The University sent the email asking if I wanted Regional ticket back in 2004. Of course, I didn't know any of the players or anything about the team. Why would I pay $60 or $70 to watch boys that I didn't know play? It was such an easy decision at the time. What a mistake...
Yes, I was a season ticket holder before Brady made it cool. The next year I decided I'd get my ticket again and if I didn't use it much then I'd not order again. Well, I made it for Opening Day and was hooked after that first weekend! I'd try to share my ticket with others when I couldn't go but found it hard to get rid of a single ticket. Am I the only person who doesn't mind going to game alone? After that season I decided that since the ticket prices were modest I'd get a second ticket. After all, it would be fun to invite folks and much easier to give them away when I couldn't go. When I asked to add the second ticket the next year (2006 season) I was told to have seats side by side I'd have to move from Section 110 (between home plate and the Hogs' dugout) out to Section 117 (left field line). I opted to stay where I was and take the seat behind mine.Folks are there to watch the game and not chit chat all night, right? I have been the chick with seats Q18 & R 19 for the past 5 seasons. It's never been too big of deal unless it's a huge weekend series or a Regional. I really have perfect seats: I'm under the overhang so I don't get hit by foul balls, rained on or sunburned. I can look straight ahead and see the Hog that's on deck and the scoreboard. And most importantly I like the people who sit around me and they like me (or at least put on a good act). I tell you all of this so that you can understand my excitement that I might get side-by-side seats next season in the section that I love. As I prepared to enter the park on Thursday I tucked one ticket in my wallet for Lona and was carrying my ticket and my phone in my hand as I walked across the parking lot. I was stunned and confused when I glanced down and in what seemed like flashing neon I saw Q17! Q17? Where had that ticket come from? Had I had it all season? Of course, I had... they mail a package. I'd torn all the tickets all season and never even noticed that my R19 seat had been replaced. No wonder it seemed like folks were in my seats all season! We lost the game that night but came back to win a double header on Saturday to win the West and the second seed slot at the SEC Tourney in Hoover. The final game on Saturday was definitely exciting but I'm pretty sure the main memory from the weekend will be spending it with some of my favorite peeps and discovering that I've finally got the seats I've wanted for six years! OK, six years if you count me wanting them this season, too. I'm already anxious for Opening Day, 2012! Woo Pig Sooie!
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| One of my all-time favorite Hogs! He has such heart! |
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| Who wouldn't want this seat? |
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