Another mid afternoon start for the second game of the year. I met up with a few friends in Fort, and then proceeded to someone else’s parent’s place to meet up with some more people. We wound up leaving Fort around 11:40 (we had wanted to leave at 11:00). Again a detour was made to pick up someone, this time in Brookfield. Made it to the Yount parking lot at 1 pm sharp. When we pulled in to the lots I noticed an advertisement plane flying above, I think it was the same one from opening day, but I didn’t bother to read the ad on opening day. After a closer look:

You’d think with a family friendly venue like Miller Park you could come up with a better sign to fly overhead.

The people I was with had their own tickets way way way up in the upper deck and over in the right field corner, I think they said 406. I didn’t have anyone for my second ticket so I gave it to my friend and told him to join me if he wanted to. I was tagging along with the group he was with, so I understood that he might not get the chance. He stopped by in the 8th inning and stayed for the remainder of the game, so it was all good.

Since I wouldn’t be spending too many games tailgating in the general lot, I decided it was worthy for the game number two sign:

Jens, a friend since middle school, and whose wedding I stood up in back in September, is the second one from the left. It was either him or his wife, on his right, who instructed everyone to hold up two fingers for the number of games. It’s kind of cheesy, but I still think it’s cool. I’m 1/81 of the way there!!!

I left the tailgate at 2:45 and made the trek towards Miller Park. The majority of people tailgating have about the same mindset, so it gets rather hectic when you try to get into the game for the first pitch. I walk faster than most people, maybe it’s because I have a overall goal. I was walking along the outside of Miller Park’s back wall as the national anthem was being sung. Once inside I made a quick pitstop in the right field loge bathrooms behind section 206, *THE* best bathrooms to go to if you’re trying to get in and out quickly. They have the most urinals of any bathroom at Miller Park, and the least amount of people use them. The bathroom right by my seats in section 221 has only 7 urinals I believe, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to make it in and out between innings because there are so many people in that area. Alright, that’s enough about bathrooms.

I made it to my seat as the Brewers were taking the field for the top of the 1st, and I let out a sigh of relief. It was another good start for the Crew. Greinke faced the minimum through two innings, and Corey Hart hit an absolute BOMB in the second. Apparently spring training is overrated. Hart played in two major league spring training games, hit an opposite field home run in one of them, and proceeded to hit two home runs in the second game of the season. Superb.

I took some pictures with my DSLR during the game, but it’s tough during night games or when the roof is closed. I don’t have the fastest lens and my pictures aren’t as crisp as I’d like. A faster lens would run $700-$2000, so I think I’ll stick with the one I’ve got. This is Braun cruising into second after his first inning double.

And this is Rickie taking his lead after the successful sacrifice by T-Plush in the sixth. I have to give a shout out to the grounds crew; I think the grass looks amazing this year, especially for this early in the season.

Greinke pitched 7 strong innings of 4 hit, no walk baseball, and the bullpen did the rest. Overall the Brewers gave up 6 hits, and they were all singles, not bad at all. I’ll take a 6-0 win every day of the week, heck I’ll take a 1-0 win every day of the week. A win is a win, and that’s all that matters. The rubber match is tomorrow at 1:10, and I need to get some sleep. After the game tomorrow I’m heading straight to Chicago, where I’ll be staying five nights with a college friend and his wife (who is also a college friend). He is a Cubs fan, but he’s a great guy, so I let it slide.

Personal Stats:

Daily:

Season:

Opening day for me started at 3:45 AM. Went to bed at 9:30 last night but probably only got 4 hours of sleep. I left my parents’ house (where I’ll be staying while the Brewers are in Milwaukee) at 4:44 and made it to Miller Park right on time at 5:45. My parents live on “Lake” Koshkonong. I put lake in quotes because it’s a man made lake that is 10 feet deep at its deepest, it is south of Fort Atkinson if you’re not familiar with the area.

I got to park in the VIP lot, thanks Tyler (Barnes, the VP of Communications), and entered Miller Park through the south dock, where media members and the players enter. Upon entering I ran into the guy who was handing out credentials. I told him my name and of course there wasn’t anything for me. I wound up just pulling up an email I had received from Tyler a few days earlier detailing where I should go, showed it to him, and was on my way. 50 yards away was my first glimpse of the field on the day that I think should be a state holiday.

A few steps further and I was enjoying the view a little more:

I walked along the warning track and met with Tyler before my first interview that was scheduled for 6:15. Jill, the senior director of merchandise branding, supplied me with the first round of apparel that I’ll be getting from the Brewers, as part of our agreement. I was freezing and threw on an extra fleece that they had included. I had asked for mediums when I met with Jill a few weeks ago, but apparently the manufacturers idea of a medium is different than mine. I’ll have to see if I’ll be able to do some exchanging. This on the other hand, will not need any exchanging: