All Star Game Returns After 34 Years

Yes, I can remember some of what was happening back in 1972. But I can't recall the last time the Southern League All Stars played a game here. Of course I was living about 50 miles away back in '72 and I have no specific recollection of the Rebels during that time. In fact, it was 1979 before I even made a trip to Patterson field to see a game here in town. The Rebels left town not too long after that and until the Biscuits arrived three years ago, there was no real minor league baseball in town.

But with the Biscuits success, the league decided to allow them to host this year's event. Just under a week following the 4th of July it was time for the game. Now billboards have been up all over town for weeks, and the promos have been running during the regular season games and on the radio, but no one really knew how the locals would support this event.

Since the game tickets were not part of the season package, I had not planned ahead to make arrangements to get my tickets, so I ended up with seats on the grass in the outfield. As it turned out, this wasn't too bad, since it was cooler on the grass than in the stands surrounded by sun-backed concrete and steel. When the gates opened at 5:30, it was only 98 degrees with the sun still brightly warming the crowd. That allowed for a mere 90 minutes to kill before the scheduled start time.

Once the blanket was set up just behind the foul pole in right field, it looked like it would be a long, dull wait while we basted in the heat. But the home run derby cranked up and soon we were dodging baseballs landing all around us. It wasn't too bad sitting out there with a slight breeze blowing across the field.

Eventually the game started, although it was half an hour later than scheduled. Looking around, you could tell the place was packed. Later the attendance was announced as a record crowd of 7,454. It seemed like the actual crowd was a little smaller than the inaugural opening night crowd when the stadium first opened two years ago, but my vantage from the outfield was different than it was from the regular seats at that first game.

There was plenty of entertainment between innings with the comic antics of Reggie, Myron Noodleman (remember Jerry Lewis as the "Absent-Minded Professor") and the Famous Chicken. We even caught sight of Big Mo late in the game walking around the outfield.

The game moved along at a good pace and in the end, the

North All Stars soundly defeated the South All Star squad. It didn't matter to the remaining crowd, who were waiting for the fireworks show to start.

Once those ended, we headed home. We had been down at Riverwalk Stadium for almost seven hours, including our visit to the Fan Fest late in the afternoon and dinner at the Montgomery brewpub http://www.montgomerybrewpub.com/ before entering the stadium itself when the gates opened. This made for a long afternoon/evening and might have almost exceeded the tolerance limits for a 7 year-old. But in comparison, it wasn't any longer than a trip to Tuscaloosa for a football game, and it was cooler than several afternoon games in Bryant Denny have been in the past. So, the time wasn't too bad, and it was all here in town with no long drive to enjoy the event. Not too bad.

4th of July

Since the weather around here's been so oppressively hot, we decided to celebrate the 4th of July with a cookout. Nothing like reveling in the heat and humidity. The planning for the event has been in the works for several weeks. The patio area needed some major preparation and this included the Fountain.

Now this fountain has not been used for some time. I think it was last in operation about 7 years ago, and I won't go into the amount of work that was required to actually get it up and running. Its a concrete basin with a small pump to circulate the water. Once I had it cleaned out and

spent too much time working on the drain, it was functional once again. I had some help with the cleaning out part, nothing like something that looks almost like a pool to lure offers from a 7-year old.


We started late afternoon with Margaritas and fired up the
grille. Strategically-placed fans on the patio helped with the heat and the nearest indoor space was essentially supercooled to provide almost instant relief from the outdoor blowtorch temperatures. The menu was an assortment of sausages with cool salad and an assortment of chips, sauce and cheeses.

Everyone drifted outside to the patio and ended up back inside after darkness fell and the neighborhood fireworks started echoing up and down the street. Not that anyone around here would have been involved with something that illegal, mind you. But certain nameless persons eluded detection after rockets went hurtling through the trees and over houses. Those scortch marks in the middle of the road will disappear if it ever rains again and there was no apparent damage to a certain leased vehicle, that could be seen in the darkness.

In all, the bug repellants worked well and there were enough ice and libations available for everyone to enjoy. There was some speculation as to whether we were eating bratwurst, polish sausage, chicken sausage with

basil or tex mex, since once they go on the grille, those things are difficult to distinguish without tasting. The fruit salad and cupcakes were a nice finishing touch that helped to cool everone down.

I recall conversations about Jacksonville, condos in Maine, Coco's name and how in the world young Justin could have played the Judge course that morning in the stifling heat. Sometimes you can almost kill yourself with golf, and that didn't seem like the best choice to challenge in the heat wave, but then, when would be a good time for that layout?

So this was something that we should do again. Perhaps when it cools down a little. In fact, the chiminea, would be much more comfortable on New Year's eve instead of 4th of July, but since it started almost by spontaneous combustion this time, its easy to explain how that happened.