As a dedicated soccer player, Memorial Day weekend always meant one thing to me: the Needham Soccer Tournament. Every year, I've made the trip east with my club, Berkshire Ajax, for lots of soccer, guaranteed stops at Boloco, and cookouts at the home of Kerry and Lou Collins. We've gotten to know the Collins family well through the Foehls, and as the years have gone by, the size of the cookout has only increased.
When I was home for Dylan's book party, I found myself lamenting that this year would be the first time in a long while that I would miss out on the Memorial Day festivities. I returned to Hamden praying for the off chance that some part of my long weekend would open up. Sure enough, I found my Sunday evening restaurant shift switched to Saturday, and with the fifty degree weather, we had no need for caddies at the country club. I went to be Saturday night with no commitments for the next day, except a drive to Wellesley to enjoy my day off the way I had hoped.
Well, not only did I make it to Wellesley, but I also found myself with front row seats for a slightly more meaningful sporting event than a U12 soccer game. Let me explain.
I arrived in plenty of time to see Toby Foehl's 11:30 match, coached by my dad and Brooks Foehl. With my brother Sam and the rest of the Foehl boys in attendance, we watched the Willamstown squad beat up on its competition. As soon as the final whistle blew, the eight of us piled in the van. Soon, we were on the Mass Pike heading east towards downtown Boston. We listened to the Red Sox pre-game show on the radio, and as we jumped out of the car, the first pitch was about to be thrown.
I remember Red Sox games when I was younger where my dad and I bought cheap bleacher or standing-room-only seats and then moved closer and closer as the game went along. It was always my favorite way to watch the game, because jumping around from seat to seat was a game in itself. Well, that was our plan, except we had a crew of eight plus Nick Fogel, who saved us a spot in the SRO ticket line.
Our plan was set; though our execution was spotty, if you consider that we had everyone inside the ballpark with a ticket by the bottom of the second inning, then we did just about as well as we could've hoped. Soon our conglomerate was broken up into twos and threes, but we all managed to find free seats on the first base side of park somewhere near Sections 16 and 17. For $20, it wasn't a bad deal.
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| First it was this... |
Though the Sox were putting on a lackluster performance at best, and though various members of our crew were forced to relocate from time to time, we all seemed to be enjoying the chilly Sunday afternoon game to its fullest. That was, until I discovered that two of my Greylock classmates--Eric Leitch and Alex Majetich--were also in the ballpark, sitting below us in the first row. I told Eric to turn around and look at us, and after successfully making the connection, Eric sent me a message that would drastically change my viewing experience. He told me there were two free seats next to him in the front row that hadn't been occupied yet. It was the fifth inning. I was willing to take the risk. So, between innings, Jake Foehl and I pulled some stealth moves to sneak by the ticket-checkers, and just like that, we were in the first row. As we gawked at how close we were to the field and fiddled with the TV fixed on the facade in front of us, the Indians tacked on another run to make it 4-1. It was cool to be just yards from the Sox players as they took practice swings, but it wasn't so cool when they proceeded to ground out weakly to second.
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| And then this. Not bad, considering I had a $20 standing-room-only ticket in my pocket. |
Soon it was the ninth. The thrill of being in the front row (and making appearances on TV from time to time) hadn't worn off, but our time was running out. It was 5-2, and the Sox were three outs away from falling to Terry's new team. Then Pedroia walked. Papi blasted one over the center fielder's head. Soon we were only down by one run. Then again, there were two outs. It was the end of the batting order--newer members of the Red Sox like Johnny Gomes, Stephen Drew, and Jose Iglesias--that got the two out rally going. Don't forget, I'm still sitting in the first row. Standing and cheering is the better description, because the bases were now loaded for Jacobe Ellsbury.
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| I'm surprised the camera was able to capture me at a moment when I wasn't cheering. |
Moments later, Ellsbury took a fastball out to centerfield that hit the Monster on the bounce. Fenway went berserk. Two runs scored with ease, and the Sox walked off with the win. I don't make it to Fenway often, so watching a walk-off ninth inning from the front row was one of the most exhilarating things I've witnessed at a live sporting event. We gathered our crew together as the fans finally began to exit the stadium. We were lucky to get into the park, lucky to find decent seats, and lucky to celebrate a come-from-behind Red Sox victory.
It was a phenomenal afternoon at the ballpark. Back in Wellesley, our cookout at the Collins's was bigger and better than ever, complete with Corn Hole and Kan-Jam in the yard and a big fire that was the perfect thing for the chilly evening. Around that fire, sitting next to old friends and others I'd just met, it was the perfect time to share stories and reminisce. I've gotten good at telling my Germany story, but with all of my other adventures since the new year, I have even more to share. And I can compare my discoveries, too. Like girls in Germany versus girls in the South (I think we all know which ones I prefer). It was great to see the Collins's and participate in another eventful Memorial Day weekend, even though I wasn't out on the soccer pitch. I know this one will be hard to forget.
I can't fail to mention my lunch the next day. We always make a point to hit Bolocco--that's been a tradition for years--but we've discovered another favorite spot: Pinkberry. Frozen yogurt is the new ice cream, and Pinkberry does FroYo right. If only we could get one in Williamstown...
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