Home of the Braves

Last night went to a Braves game. Eleven months I've lived in Georgia and I had not yet been to a Braves game (or Braved game, as I misspelt it in my diary. Yikes! How is it that computers so infiltrate my Real Life? I find myself making common typing errors in my handwriting!) It was terribly exciting. Even if I didn't love baseball, I would have enjoyed it. It reminded me of the only other live professional sports event I've ever attended, when David and Amy took us all out to watch the Chicago Bulls play the New York Knicks in '88. At the time I didn't understand all the rules about basketball (in fact I don't know much more about it now than I did then) but it was extremely exciting, with the music blaring, the fans cheering, the action riveting, and the announcers hyping the crowd just right. Just so last night. I'm not usually given to exaggerated displays of emotion in public, but it was intensely easy to fall under the spell of the adrenaline pump. I even thought to myself, 'This is a set-up. They are deliberately pumping the crowd to make sure that everyone feels happy and excited and believing that they're having a good time. This is nothing more than powerfully suggestive emotional manipulation.' But it was so well done! When the loudspeakers blared with the cavalry music, it was the most natural thing in the world to shout 'Charge!' at the batter. When a giant wave got started around the stadium (Turner Field is supposedly one of the best places to create a wave effect) it was such fun to stand up and fling one's arms into the air and cheer. And then there's this giant tom-tom drum that starts beating every time there's a need for a tense moment, and the crowd starts doing the Tomahawk Chop with the right hand - very exciting to watch. Wow! So we lost. It was an incredible experience anyway. I must go back soon. But, as the Apostle Paul said, I must also see Rome.