We grabbed our gloves and off we went. Friday night traffic was typical and we arrived at the ballpark with about 15 minutes to spare. We quickly made our way to the concession stand and we decided that hotdogs, fries and drinks would be our meal of choice. I found our seats and after a short discussion with a gentleman who was sitting in the wrong section, we sat down. We were sitting on the home dugout side, even with 1st base. I later found out that some friends were there that night, one of which (Matt Black) was in the quartet that sang the National Anthem. (Small world) The theme for the night was Heroes and Villans. It has been really hot and humid here in Chicago area lately and Friday night was no exception. We had talked that if the weather was cool enough that he could wear either his Iron Man or Snake Eyes costume. Since it was hot, I told him to pick out one of his t-shirts with a hero on it. Hunter selected his Sonic t-shirt and I wore my Batman t-shirt.
Hunter asked a ton of questions about the game. He was curious about the rules of the game, how the scoring was kept, who the different people on the field were and what their roles were, how they kept getting balls up to home plate and what the numbers on the foul poles were for. He also noticed the Gatorade coolers in the visitor dugout. He likes Gatorade, so I think he was a tad bit jealous. About the 6th inning, we went for a cool snack and he chose an M&M Ice Cream Sandwich. He said it was very good.
He was attentive for most of the game and really enjoyed the entertainment between innings. One of the things which likely helped was that he had his iTouch. He took a lot of pictures throughout the game. At one point he decided that he was going to record the game. He ended up recording roughly the last 42 minutes of the game. At roughly the 17 minute mark, a foul ball was sliced over our head. He caught it on the video and the audio includes the screams which immediately followed. The ball was hit very sharply and could have easily hurt somebody. Thankfully, the ball was hit into empty seats a few rows up and in the section to our right. If fans in our area were not paying attention a few minutes earlier, I am sure that they were after that! As it started getting darker he asked how we would be able to see when the sun went down and I told him that the stadium lights would keep the field well lit. He then stood up and counted each set of lights (there were six) and proceeded to point out that some of them had burnt out bulbs. (Yep, and there's the autism... :) )
The Cougars had a shutout going until the top of the 9th, when the Bees had a couple of hits and the Cougars pitcher threw to 1st when nobody was there except one of the Bees runners. It hit him in the ankle, took a weird bounce and the runner was able to advance. He ultimately scored but it didn't affect the outcome as the Cougars won the game 8-1.
Immediately after the game, they started the Heroes and Villans Themed Fireworks show. It was very good. Included in Hunter's 42 minute recording was the fireworks show, which he included because he wanted to show it to mama.
After the fireworks were done, we herded ourselves out of the ballpark to our respective vehicles. As we were walking through the parking lot, we were entertained by a second fireworks show. Only this show was put on by the thunderstorm which was rapidly heading our way. (There were reports of 60 MPH wind gusts, hail, lightning, etc..) By God's grace, we were able to get to the van and get out of the parking lot relatively quickly. For the most part, we were able to stay ahead of the storm on our way home.
We both had a great time and he told me that he would like to go to another game.
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