Take Me Out To... Turner Field

As the daughter of a sports fanatic and wife to a man with ESPN on the brain (and the iPhone), professional sports have been and will continue to be part of my life.  I must admit that watching any sport on television is not exactly my idea of a rocking good time; however, a live sporting event is a whole different story.  As a cheering fan in the stands at just about any athletic event I'm on cloud nine.  (With the exception of auto racing.  Time trials for the Daytona 500 was perhaps one of the most painfully boring, hot and stinky days of my life. I have no desire to recreate that experience.)

It was natural then, when putting together a list of what MUST be done in my time on Earth that something sports related be included.  The hubby and I were both raised in St. Louis which has been called the #1 Sports City in the US. (Now, when I looked for supporting evidence I could only find STL publications backing that claim... hmmmm.  Perhaps that's just something we say in STL? NAH) There is no doubt that even during a losing season in St. Louis, the Cardinals reign supreme.  So, it stands to reason that we both were indoctrinated became loyal baseball fans.  While I've been to countless Cardinals game in my lifetime, I had NEVER watched a baseball game in ANY other major league park.  This was something that needed to be altered.

Enter the Ultimate To DO list.

One of the bolder items on the list is my intention to attend a game at every major league baseball park.  Lofty goal, eh?

We decided to start slowly and with a little bit of familiarity.  The Cardinals were playing the Braves in Atlanta this past weekend.  Two birds with one stone! It was a chance to cheer on our home team and cross an item off the To DO list.  So, we took a little road trip two hours south and ventured into Turner Field home of the Atlanta Braves.

We found fantastic seats on the first base line and settled in for an afternoon of Cardinals baseball.  (I'm pretty sure there were a few fans present who might have considered this a BRAVES game and not a Cardinals game... but why split hairs?)

Our seats were under cover which turned out to be awesome both when the sun was shining AND when the scattered showers blew through.

It's true, Atlanta is "Braves Country".  But, it was pretty exciting to see so many Cardinals fans all over the park.  It also made it less scary to cheer for our team when there were plenty of others doing so too.

We went to a game on September 11th so there were tons of pre-game festivities/memorials including special recognition for local police and fire fighters. 

Ultimately, the Cards lost in 13 innings.  But the game was definitely entertaining!  Plenty of ups and downs and we sat next to the sweetest older couple who were game to do a little trash talking but not rub it in too badly when the Cardinals choked.

Now, for the important stuff...

How Turner Field Measures Up:

Hot Dog: Hebrew National Kosher Dogs are always Yummy.  I didn't opt for the fancier "gourmet" dogs that were available, though I have to say they were tempting.

Nachos:  White Corn Chips were a plus but the Nacho Cheese could've used a bit more spice for my taste buds

Most Obvious Sponsor Presence: Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Budweiser, Publix and Chic-fil-a
Unique to Turner Field: The Tomahawk Chop is probably a teeny bit offensive but definitely EXTREMELY annoying... seriously, every time a runner gets on base?

Our trip to Turner Field turned out to be a GRADE A first non-Busch MLB experience.  Makes me think this item is going to be a fun one to keep crossing off!