The Arctic Tailgate = mission accomplished.

March 1, 2009

Been away from home for a few days and not in the right state of mind to play with my wife’s $2000 laptop.  So, I am now catching up on everything I’ve missed.

I slept in the vehicle pictured below…
My vintage 23 foot 1977 Dodge Jamboree motorhome.  A true oldie but goodie in all aspects.  Normally reserved for Lambeau Field and Brewers opening day, this baby took everything we could give it and is still standing.

I arrived at Miller Park on Thursday around 3 pm and set up my tent in line (I had to save my spot).
           No, I did not sleep in this thing.  Come on people, this wasn’t my first rodeo.
           I’m a seasoned veteran.

While everyone’s tents were tearing and blowing away from the wind, my little fella stood strong in the 30 mph winds that were ripping outside Miller Park over the weekend.
A strategically chosen location and a few sandbags inside anchored this baby down
(I was a boy scout, you know).

            So, at 3pm on Thursday my wait began for this…
            I had the blessing of this lovely lady that made it all possible…
                                                 What an unbelievable wife.

So, I waited, I mingled, I waited some more, I ate, I had a few beverages, etc. 
Then, the cavalry started to arrive.

The first arrival was Matt.  I play summer leagues with him.  He’s our 2nd baseman.
Matt was just in time for the free pizza the Brewers were providing.
           That’s Matt standing in the pizza line with the white and pinstriped Brewers jersey.

After we grabbed up our free pizza, we headed to the friendly confines (no, not the rat infested, crumbling Wrigley Field…but, my motorhome.

            Me and my free pizza…
           About 20 minutes later…
               Is it just me, or, does free stuff just taste better because it’s free?

Next arrival was a friend of mine (Brent) that works on the Grounds Crew at Miller Park.  Brent’s job is awesome.  During games, his assignment is to attend to the visiting bullpen.  So, if the players need a mound touch-up, he’s their man.  Basically, he gets to stand in the visiting bullpen, watch the game and shoot the breeze with the visiting bullpen arms. 
Talk about a sweet gig. 

The next to arrive was my childhood friend Justin.  Affectionately known as “Juddy” in our circle of friends, Justin and I have been best of friends since grade school.  He’s a real stand-up guy (although he fell down a few times over the course of this party). 

            Here’s “Juddy” and I guarding the tent…
It was around 5 degrees (with windchill) outside but thanks to a few Wisconsin made barley pops, we were not feeling the affects.

Our next attendee to arrive was “Ballhawk Shawn.”  Shawn is a talented young ballhawk who has what it takes to break some of my records (apparently, he broke my single game baseballs snagged record of 13 by snagging his own 14.  That’s a great day of snagging.  Shawn has his own blog here.  He tells me he will start blogging a bit more once the season starts.  I hope so…he has some good ballhawking/autograph stories to share.

            Here’s Shawn doing some early season bunting drills…
           Pretty good form…but that left hands needs to stay further down the handle. 
           It got the job done, though-advanced the runner to third.

The next troop (literally) to arrive was my good friend and co-worker, Dan.  Dan’s a heckuva great guy and a veteran of the Second Gulf War.

            Here’s a picture of Dan telling some war stories using Juddy’s prop…
            Here’s a picture of Dan taking a break to wet his whistle…
                                                          Ahhhhhhhhhhh…

Our next arrival is a very talented man in the shirt-making industry.  You may have seen his link on the right side of my blog.  If not, you need to check it out.  He and his business partner specialize in Milwaukee themed shirts.  They are hilarious.  Their business used to be called Insomniac Ink.  They are now known as “The Milwaukee Shirt Guys.” 
They were responsible for the production of my new “Happy Youngster” t-shirts.

            Here’s a picture of Ross taking some cuts…

No, that’s not Boris Yeltsin pictured above…

It’s T-Shirt Ross!!

   Here’s a picture of Ross proudly displaying one of his soon-to-be world famous creations…
                                              He just doesn’t know it yet.

The last to arrive was a very well-known ballhawk at Milwaukee County Stadium and Miller Park.  His name is Mike and he has lots of energy.  He’s a CPA by day and a ballhawk by night.  I believe his career game home run total stands at 26.  He has snagged over a thousand career baseballs since 1987.  He’s a fun guy to have around.

            Here’s “Big Mike” enjoying some heat from the fire…
  Mike’s a former college offensive lineman turned accountant.  I’ve known Mike and his Dad for over 10 years now.  He gave me my first bit of ballhawking advice back in 1998.  I remember it vividly.  He said, “rule #1 of batting practice…never watch a baseball you can no longer catch.”  Great advice.  Thanks for all the tips over the years, Mike.

     Here’s a picture of the line of tents that surrounded Miller Park by midnight Friday night…
            Here’s another…
            Here’s a group shot…
                                                  I was the cameraman.

            Here’s a picture of me pract
icing my swing for the upcoming baseball season…

            Dan and I in need of some sleep…
           Here’s a picture of pure party destruction…
            More of our party destruction…
                I assure you…no one was hurt (physically) in the making of this scene. 
                A few feelings were probably hurt, though!

            Here’s another group shot with a strange lady who stopped by the party…
That’s her in the red coat.  We did not know her.  She heard a few of “Big Mike’s” stories and I think she was in love.  No, not really.  But, she did want to skip the line and get in our spot with us.  Are you kidding me, lady?  We’ve been here since Thursday and you want to get in line with us Saturday morning?  Whatever. 

I think I will designate the lady pictured below (in red coat) as the first official
                            “Happy’s yahoo of the day”
         I told the lady to hit the road (not those exact words but something to that effect.
As you can see by the picture, “Big Mike” befriended the lady but that was as far as she got.  You can see her packing her bags and moving on in the picture above.
It’s all about principle…nothing personal, lady.

            Here’s a picture of two Gulf War (2nd) vets enjoying the fire…
I mentioned Dan was a veteran of the 2nd Gulf War…Juddy served in Iraq/Kuwait as well. 
You both kick some serious butt.  Way to go, boys.

Manny being Manny…

AND…

                                                     Juddy being Juddy…
                                             More Juddy being Juddy…

                             Juddy makes that face a lot.  You know the one. 
                             I love Juddy like a brother.  He’s like family to me.

Finally, 5 am rolled around and the last three standing were:  Dan, Juddy and I.  The rest of the fellas had retreated home. 
So, we decided to grab a quick nap before the line moved inside the stadium.

            Here’s a
pic of us standing in yet another line inside of Miller Park…
Those are the so-called “World Famous Racing Sausages.”  (I’ve seen those things run around so many times that it has lost its luster long ago).  But, they’re a staple of Brewers home games, so what the heck.

                                             Finally, around 9:30 am…
                                                         The finish line.

              I purchased my max. allowed (4) for Opening Day.  Mission accomplished.

                                                I came, I saw, I conquered.
                     Special thanks to the boys for joining me.  What a blast!
                                    Now, let’s get this season going.

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Written by mlblogsthehappyyoungster Posted in Dailies Tagged with Arctic Tailgate party, individual game tickets, Milwaukee Brewers