KC/DC - September combo trip

KC

The KC trip slated for mid-September was rescheduled - I was advised of this while at the Rockies game on a Friday night during our previous road trip - to later in the month for a Wednesday. I was still able to enjoy some mid-day barbecue at the same restaurant I ate in last year before heading over to the stadium for the game.

KC plays in a minor league baseball stadium (our game got moved for a baseball playoff game) while its new stadium is being built. My No. 1 priority was to get a tour of the construction site for the new stadium, and my boys in KC made it happen. I had a blast seeing the site and trying to imagine what the place is going to look like. I think it's going to be a gem. I also had to wear a helmet of KC blue - ugh! - and there's a grainy, blurry, cell-phone picture to prove it.

For this game, I went on about 25 minutes into the game because, due to the rescheduling, there was other programming going until 8 p.m. That saved me from a pregame show, and I only missed one of the game's seven (!) goals. A lot of excitement, but unfortunately another loss.

DC

At the KC airport on Thursday, I was informed that I was going standby on the team flight. Since the trips were combined from two into one, we carried extra players, which bumped me off the (tiny) plane (not my preferred airline, by the way) and into an alternate arrangement. I wound up connecting from PHL to DCA and having to take a taxi to the hotel. It wasn't that bad, and I did get a few more miles out of it, but I'd rather stay with the team when I have the option.

It was great to be in D.C. ... We hadn't been there for about 18 months, and this time we were staying in the city instead of way out, so we could actually enjoy the atmosphere - people-watching, late-night food options, public transportation ... all the good Northeastern stuff. We had training on Friday afternoon - it was so hot and the field was so bad that the joke went it was just like home.

The highlight came at the end of training, when a younger player who shall not be named was given the option of wagering with our coach: this player had to beat the goalkeeper with a two-touch shot from outside the penalty area, with a smoothie as the wager. When his first shot was stopped, our coach proposed 'double or nothing.' Once again, our young player saw his shot saved. All the other players were taking off their boots and getting ready to head to the bus. So our coach threw the young man a lifeline: try it again, with four smoothies - one for each member of the coaching staff - on the line. As you might have guessed, he couldn't score with this attempt either.

So the bet went up to seven smoothies - including other staff members, but not me - for the next shot. This time, even though the goalkeeper was required to defend from his knees, our youngster was stopped once again. His teammates were in stitches at this point. Finally, one of our coaches was called to stand in for the final shot, worth eight smoothies - I was included this time! Thankfully for the young man involved, he fired this shot low into the net to get himself off the hook. A heck of a way to finish training.

Met up with MAB to see a Nationals game that night, my first visit to Nationals Park. I had not heard great things - everybody seemed to say 'I'll let you make up your own mind about it,' which does not inspire confidence - but I found it to have a decent environment. There are obvious flaws - the upper deck is set too far back, the press box is too far away, the color scheme doesn't seem to fit the team brand - but it's serviceable.

We sat in the first section of the upper deck, which seemed to be where a number of hardcore fans sit. I was one of maybe 10 people keeping score in the area, far more than normal. We also had a gentleman who insisted on playing PA announcer for the starting lineups and pitching changes, complete with a wireless microphone apparently connected to nothing. Certainly kept us on our toes. We enjoyed the game – a fantasy baseball player of mine hit two homers, we saw an inside-the-park home run, AND the Braves lost – and the atmosphere was pretty good. The Presidents Race was a standout in my memory, I have to admit.

Saturday was a busy, busy day. Breakfast with MAB and better half in the a.m., lunch with future father-in-law in the afternoon, pre-game interview, bus to stadium, game – an actual road win, complicated by a concussion that extended the game an extra 10+ minutes – post-game duties, late-night dinner, people-watching, and highlight-watching at a local restaurant.

Sunday was one of those ridiculously early flights – I think our last three trips ended in early a.m. flights – but I got back in time to play a full outdoor soccer game. A loss, to be sure, but to an upper-division team, so it couldn't take away from Saturday's win.