Sweet Caroline

Friday night, I watched my first ballgame at Fenway Park. I did not know if the Red Sox were playing but wanted at least to lay eyes on America's Most Beloved Ballpark. As it turns out, the Red Sox are 11 games out of first in the AL East, so ticketholders were literally in line to unload their tickets at face value. The home team beat the Orioles, and this Southern boy was freezing by the end the game. Temperature at gametime was 58 degrees, in September! For Dixie climes, that's nearly unimaginable cold.

So before the game starts, I'm talking to my jealous dad on the phone, when an old guy comes up the aisle wearing a sweatshirt that makes me smile. I yell out, "ROLL TIDE!," and the gent turns toward me as if we were long lost brothers on alien shores. Turns out this proud Alabama fan lives a mile from us and was sitting in my section with a Florida fan. Bet they had fun.

Go Red Sox! You won me over. Just in time for another 80 years of futility, but welcome to my world.