April 1st, 2013- No Foolin'... It's Opening Day!

First, let me say, that I cannot believe that I haven't posted in this blog since 2010. Seriously? I thought I'd put at least a couple of posts over the last two years. Well, that means there will need to be a lot of catching up. But that will have to come later... because today is Opening Day!

Opening Day attire- 33 degrees and Sunny!

This will be my FIRST Opening Day, as a non-employee in 18 years (I guess we will have to post some entries about that).  I have always given my Opener tickets to my brother and nephew, because I have always worked the game. This year is a different story. I HAD to let them go, but I also HAD to be there myself. So I bought extra tickets. Thanks to my friend Dan, in the ticket office, I was able to acquire the two seats directly behind my own tickets. As I write this- Troy and Kaden know that I will be at the game, and we'll be sitting nearby, but they do not know how close. :) I'm pretty excited for Jen and I to show up behind them!

As a non-employee, I decided to set an attendance goal.  I would like to attend one game per series. This seems like a lot, so it might be one game per homestand, but we will see! I'm pretty excited to go this year!! Last year, I think I only got to a couple of games on my own tickets, and a few through groups of friends.  Anyway, as a newly re-dedicated fan, I decided that this blog needed to come back!

Of course, it IS Minnesota, and while Opening Day at Target Field has been pretty mild so far... today is NOT going to be mild. The sun is shining, there's a breeze (we will call it a WIND- it's WINDY) and the high today is 33 degrees. Seriously. So- I thought I would kick off this blog with a pre-game post about my attire. Here it is. 2 pairs of socks, long underwear, jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve T, hoodie, winter jacket, stocking hat and mittens! Zoikes! Stay tuned for how this all turns out!

Time to start the process of adding layers.
Go Twins!!

Navy Seal Leapfrogs on July 3rd!

Armed Forces Day has always been a fun one at the MN Twins. The 2010 Armed Forces Day was no exception. The Navy Seal "Leap Frogs" were here to parachute into Target Field. After several failed practice attempts, due to high winds, it was an all or nothing event! It was pretty windy that day, but they still jumped. Knowing it was coming and seeing the plane fly over, gave me chills! Then it was just wait and watch the crowd react! I remember telling my ushers to be on the lookout incase one of the jumpers crashed into the stands! Thankfully that didn't happen!

Here they come! We couldn't see them yet, but they were on the big screen!


The First jumper landed, sliding from 2nd to 3rd on the grass... pretty sure Larry DeVito was freaking out about the grass! :)



Check out the skyline view on this one.. love it!



This guy crashed into the right field wall just like Michael Cuddyer (or is it Jason Kubel now?), but he was ok!



The last two jumpers... first the POW flag

Then, the American Flag...

They were the only ones who landed close to the target, which in the photo below is lying on the ground behind second base.

The guy carrying the American Flag then placed the game ball behind the mound.

The Leap Frogs jogged off the field, Hi-5ing the fans. It was a great moment!

After the jumpers were safely down, the plane that dropped them buzzed Target Field! I couldn't get a picture, as it was quite the surprise!

Fireworks on the 2nd of July!

One of the things I still love to see at the end of a Twins win, are the fireworks that shoot off of the sign. It's a constant reminder that we do indeed play outside! Holiday weekends can be tough to work, with so much other fun going on, but this year was a little easier- because we had Fireworks as a treat on Friday night! Here is the countdown!



And then the fireworks started!



And then my staff got a little slap-happy! Kickline!


It was really fun to stand back and watch!



Finale!




You can see all of the photos in my Target Field album on Facebook.

Why we built Target Field...

June 30th was one of the days that we built Target Field for. With temps in the 80's and low humidity, Emily and I snuck out of work at 11:00 to race to the park for the 12:10 game. We ran into crazy bus traffic and had to park several blocks away. But, we made it to the park in time for the first pitch.

There is nothing better than a beer and hotdog for lunch while everyone else is working. And to top it off... a Twins Win!

Target Field ranked #1 by ESPN...

A shortened version of the email we got from Dave St. Peter!

Hi Everyone,

Earlier this week ESPN: The Magazine released the publication’s 8th annual Ultimate Sports Standings which ranks all 122 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises in a variety of areas including Stadium Experience, Ownership, Coaching, Fan Relations, Players and Affordability (see criteria and complete rankings below. Note that I’ve highlighted MLB teams in yellow and our fellow Minnesota franchises in green).

I’m absolutely thrilled to report that the Minnesota Twins and Target Field were ranked No. 1 overall (among all 122 teams) in the Stadium Experience category. CONGRATS to each and everyone for your help in shaping America’s premier sports and entertainment experience. It’s quite a statement considering we ranked 114th when playing at the Metrodome a year ago. The Top 10 Stadium Experiences in American Sport according to this survey are as follows:
1. Minnesota Twins – Target Field
2. Green Bay Packers – Lambeau Field
3. Minnesota Wild – Xcel Energy Center
4. Seattle Mariners – Safeco Field
5. Philadelphia Phillies -- Citizen’s Bank Park
6. Milwaukee Brewers – Miller Park
7. San Francisco Giants – AT&T Park
8. Indianapolis Colts – Lucas Oil Stadium
9. Pittsburgh Pirates – PNC Park
10.St.Louis Cardinals – Busch Stadium

In terms of the global survey, I’m also pleased to report that the Twins fared quite well in this survey – ranking 14th overall; 1st in the Minnesota market; and 4th in all of MLB (only behind the Angels, Rays and Rockies).

In terms of global rankings, here is how we compare to recent years:

2010
· Twins – 14th Overall – 4th in MLB
· Minnesota: Twins 14; Vikings 59; Wild 78; Wolves 116

2009
· Twins -- 23rd Overall – 4th in MLB
· Minnesota: Twins 23rd; Wild 66th; Vikings 89th; Wolves 113th

2008
· Twins – 39th Overall – 8th in MLB
· Minnesota : Wild 31st; Twins 39th; Vikings 110th; Wolves 118th

2007
· Twins – 14th Overall – 3rd in MLB
· Minnesota: Twins 14th; Wild 29th; Vikings 119th

CONGRATS to all for your collective efforts in shaping the Twins brand – on and off the field of play!!!!

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I'm adding the link to the ESPN site: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings

Squirrels and Postponements... more TF History!

Thank you to Wayne the Twins photog for snapping this one per my request! It was a crazy night! Squirrels loose on the field (I hope SOMEONE got a pic of that!) and a rain delay followed by an official suspended game. What else can you expect from the Yankees?

First Game as a Fan! May 12th!

I hadn't sold my day game tickets yet, so I decided to ask Mom if she wanted to go. SHE DID! :) So I picked her up and we headed down to the park.

We treated the day much like the State Fair-- it's all about the food! And, if you share everything you get to try twice as much. It was cold, so our first stop of the day was the bar. Where my favorite bartender, Paul, hooked us up with some Irish Coffee. I gave mom the Legend's Club tour, and then we went up to see Dave and Jess at the ECC. (should have taken pictures, I guess) It was nearly game time, so we stopped by Tony O's to get a Cuban Sandwich. YUM. Later we got a Krymarcuk's Brat, and some gelato.

Despite the weather, it was a fun day with mom... and oh yeah, the Twins won! :)