Red Sox Spring Training Reflections – City of Palms Field – Fort Myers, Florida

Website design By BotEap.comNow that Red Sox spring training is over at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, I’ve had some time to reflect on the games I’ve attended.

Website design By BotEap.comBaseball may be America’s pastime, but Red Sox spring training games will always be my guilty pleasure.

Website design By BotEap.comI’m not one of those fanatics of painting faces, screaming hatefully from two rows behind you. I am not one of those stat junkies, keeping score on a notepad and informing everyone around me of the best prospects for this season. I’m not an autograph seeker, grabbing a baseball and stomping on people to get it signed.

Website design By BotEap.comI don’t know the names of most of the players. I don’t really care who wins or loses. To tell you the truth… I have never stayed until the end of a game to celebrate a victory or mourn a defeat.

Website design By BotEap.comI only go to see the Red Sox at City of Palms Park every spring for the same reason most people celebrate the 4th of July or Halloween. For me, it’s about celebrating the fluctuation of the seasons. Spring training is one of the few reminders of the change of season that we have here in Southwest Florida. Our weather is pretty much the same every day of the year… except for those two or three cold nights we’re forced to endure in mid-January. Autumn leaves never fall from our trees. Snow never falls from our sky. Frost never freezes our windshields. All we get is the three cold nights, the threat of hurricanes, and 15-minute torrential downpours every 6:00 pm for a month or two.

Website design By BotEap.comIn this place that always stays the same, the Red Sox are like exotic, migratory birds fleeing a winter I can barely remember.

Website design By BotEap.comEvery March I make the 15-minute walk from Cape Coral, grabbing tickets to a stadium with no bad seats. Near the park there are always touts with their omnipresent “i need tickets” signs in hand. Owners of industrial houses in the vicinity have their “Parking $7.00” you sign in and wave cars into your front and back yards. The parking attendants in the official lot are always jovial older men. Energetic and smiling, they take your money and urge you to “Enjoy the game“.

Website design By BotEap.comOn the way to the stadium, most of the plates are from places in the far north. Massachusetts. Connecticut. Maine. It’s amazing how far some will drive to see grown men play a game. How lucky we are to have this destination right down the road.

Website design By BotEap.comThe road in front of City of Palms Park is always blocked to traffic. A Blue Lizard representative often hands out promotional packages of sunscreen. At the entrance, another elderly person does a half-hearted security check on bags entering the park. “Don’t forget to put on your sunscreen.”

Website design By BotEap.comInside the park is always full. A visit to the Red Sox team store to peruse the expensive merchandise is a must. Shirts. Hats. decals monopoly games. Bicycle banners. Spare tire covers. Lights. Programs. Book bags. Beer bottle openers. For a few hundred dollars, you can be the walking advertisement for Red Sox Nation that you always dreamed you would one day become.

Website design By BotEap.comThe next order of business is to wait in line for food and an expensive beer. Many people converge on the vendors in the lower lobby. The best kept secret is the food and beer stand on the upper level in the left field corner. They have picnic tables with great views of the field. The lines up there are as long as the lines for the vendors downstairs, and they only charge the same ridiculous prices that all the other vendors charge…this place is full of equal opportunity price scammers.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you’ve risen to the challenge and have your sausage with onions and peppers in one hand and your $6.25 Amberbock in the other, congratulate yourself…you’ve come a long way. Now the decision is, “Where the hell can I eat this?“Fear not though, there are a few options. You can stop and eat wherever you are. This is only recommended for advanced Red Sox fans… if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll get messy or worse. You can try of waiting for a picnic table…could happen…I guess.You can stand on the upper level overlooking the field and use the metal counter as a table…and on the second take your hands off the food, the wind will blow everything to the ground.”Let’s see where our seats are… we’ll eat there..”

Website design By BotEap.comThe seats look like a safe place to eat. Appearances can be deceiving. You utter an obligatory apology to the couple trying to eat in the far seats as you make them stand up so you can get to your seats somewhere in line. Sit down. Put the sausage in its wrapper on your lap and the beer on the floor next to your seat. Try to take a dick. Someone will immediately enter the row you are sitting in pointing to a seat beyond you. It happens every time. They grope their sandwich together and scoop up the beer so it doesn’t spill. They murmur a half-hearted apology to you. You sit down and start over. You’re going to take a bite. Another person comes out of nowhere and needs you to get up so they can get through. He goes through the motions again. The same awkward sandwich. Same quiet apology. You start over. Five minutes into this process, you are sure that everyone in the stadium will be sitting in your row at some point during the game. You can finally take a bite. That’s when you’ll realize you forgot to get some napkins.

Website design By BotEap.comDown the field, players from either team stretch out and play catch. Billy Idol blasts through the speakers. The sky is cartoon blue with wispy clouds. The lawn is green and well kept. The sun is hot. Palm trees grow on the horizon. Somewhere near the front, an enthusiastic fan holds up a homemade Red Sox sign. “Cold Bee-ah heh-ah!“, shouts a young man with a tray of beers around his neck and Massachusetts in his voice. Money and alcohol travel to the center seats through the hands of strangers. I never hear anyone say “Tell the guy to keep the change.“while the money is being passed. I wonder how they handle the tip situation from that distance. Manny Ramirez runs out onto the field. The applause comes from the sidelines and spreads intermittently among all the people in the park who like to clap when they see a player they recognize.Manneeeeey. Hello Maaannneeeey!shout all those people who want a signature to prove they were close to the man or to sell on Ebay. He agrees and signs a few things, without looking up or saying a word. I don’t think his English is that good. I’ve never seen him speak. The kids are so excited. They have a piece of the experience to take home with them. It makes sleep seem within reach.

Website design By BotEap.comBefore long, someone sings the national anthem. Everybody join. Patriotic bunch, these baseball fans. They seem to always sing this song.

Website design By BotEap.comThey start each game by letting a local businessman with connections and sponsorship money throw out the first pitch. It’s not a real pitch…there’s never really a batter in there…but everyone claps anyway.

Website design By BotEap.comThis is where the game gets a bit repetitive. All team members get a chance to hit the ball, while the entire audience collectively reacts to their performances. If an errant ball hits the stands, everyone looks to see who gets it. If you make it, you’re supposed to pick it up and smile, and then high-five someone. You get extra points for throwing it to the nearest child. I had one when I was a little boy. I’m not sure what happened to him.

Website design By BotEap.comBetween turns hitting the ball, the announcer plays music and makes witty comments.

Website design By BotEap.com“And now the weather report, presented by Cibo. Today in Fort Myers, Florida, it’s eighty-four degrees and it’s partly cloudy. Current conditions at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, are seventy degrees… cloudy… …with a mix of snow and rain, the dreaded “winter mix.” Aren’t you happy to be here?“

Website design By BotEap.comWe all laugh in unison and proceed to make comments related to the people we are with.

Website design By BotEap.com“You can imagine? Snow? Jesus, I’m glad I don’t live there anymore. Why the hell would anyone want to live up there? What happens to those people?“

Website design By BotEap.comAnd that’s the high point for me. I think that’s why I’m going… just to remind myself that the other world I came from still exists. Sometimes the arctic Massachusetts tundra I once called home seems like nothing more than a distant, fading dream. Sometimes it’s good to objectively look back at where you came from, if only so you can more truly appreciate where you are now.