Opening Day is always exciting, but this year we got to celebrate in our new ballpark! Darren and I left the house about four hours early, which was a good idea because traffic was still really light. We ended up parking at RFK and taking the Nats Express shuttle bus to the new stadium. They drop you off about four blocks away. I highly recommend this form of transportation. It was free and easy, and they did a good job of keeping things running smoothly (even after the game when people were rushing to get home). Once we got there, the line was pretty long to get through security since President Bush was planning to attend. The atmosphere was so festive and exciting once we were in the stadium! Every fan received a rally towel and lanyard. There were bands playing music and plenty of photo opportunities. The fans were so excited to have baseball back and to be in our new stadium!
We missed seeing the Braves' batting practice, but we were able to watch all of the Nationals' batting practice. And we walked around the entire stadium, so we could check out all of the different views!
After batting practice, we decided to grab some food and head to our seats. It was great to have so many more concession stands to choose from for food. The lines were pretty long, but not too bad. My only complaint is that I desperately wanted hot chocolate since it was so cold, but there was only one concession stand in the whole stadium that had it, so you can imagine how long that line was!
Then, it was time for the opening festivities to begin. Don Sutton was the Master of Ceremonies and did a great job! He introduced every player for both teams and they entered the field on a red carpet. The National Anthem was done beautifully, with plenty of pomp and circumstance. President Bush came out to throw the first pitch and unfortunately was met with a lot of booing. I understand that there are a lot of people that disapprove of him right now, but I still think it is disrespectful to boo him at a venue like this. That is just my opinion though! Anyways, it was time to play ball and everyone was ready!
It turned out to be an incredible game with the Nats scoring two runs in the first inning! Odalis Perez limited the Braves to one run over five innings. With a 2-1 lead going to the ninth and Jon Rauch pitching, the Braves tied the game at 2. But Nats fans did get a happy ending at the bottom of the ninth when third baseman Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-out walk-off home run! It doesn't get any better than that! Since Opening Day, the Nats have gone on to win their first series with the Phillies. Although, our first loss last night was heartbreaking, when Jesus Colome walked in the winning run in the 10th inning. But a 3-1 start to the season, I will definitely take that! Now, it is off to St. Louis to face the Cardinals. In other sports news, the Capitals are still in contention for the playoffs. The games this week have been some of the best that I have ever seen. It is a great week to be a Washington sports fan!
