Bravo to the Bravos: A Great Trip to Turner Field

I have to admit it, I've lost interest in baseball the past few years.  I am not exactly sure how it happened. It could be that my son gave up baseball a few years back.  Or it could be that the game has lost its luster.  Or it could be that our local team, the Atlanta Braves, have not played to the same level they did back in their heyday in the 90's.  So unfortunately I have not attended a Braves game in the last two seasons.  Its not that I have not had the opportunity.  It is more that I have always had something else going on that prevented me from going.

So when I was offered two free tickets last week to attend a game last Saturday and I checked my calendar and saw it was wide open, I was actually thrilled.  The tickets were club level seats in the Golden Moon Casino level.  AND, it was against our hated division rivals, The Phillies.  Sweet!  However, I'm still confused by this Golden Moon Casino level.  I looked around and did not see one slot machine, not one poker or blackjack table, not even a roulette wheel.  Given the fact that the team already sports a name that offends most Native Americans, I think that calling your Club Level seats by this name to be an interesting choice.  Maybe it is a compromise for using the name "Braves"??  Anyway, regardless of the name, the Golden Moon Casino is level is a great place to watch a game.  Air conditioned portals, nice restrooms, and great food options.  And of course, good food is important to me!

We arrive and are greeting by very helpful Braves personnel.  They direct us to where our section is located and point out the restrooms as well.  Then we arrive at our seats.  We are greeted by another very friendly usher who helps us locate our seats.  The usher then informs us that our tickets have a $10 food and beverage credit attached to them that can be used like a debit card.  Awesome! Our usher also lets us know all of our food options near our seats.  Great service Atlanta Braves!

My wife and I leave our seats and set out to find some lunch and use our newly found $20 credit.  There are all kinds of options: Bar-B-Que, tacos, burritos, hot dogs, hamburgers, even sushi!  While I love sushi, the thought of eating sushi at the ball park just does not appeal to me.  We ended up settling on the taqueria.  As we walk up to place our order, we were greeting once again by a friendly vendor who said "Welcome to Braves Country".  What a refreshing change from the usual mumbled "may I take your order".  I tried a grilled chicken burrito and my wife had the grilled chicken tacos.  Admittedly the guy making my burrito clearly lacked the burrito-rolling skills that the folks at Willy's, Chipotle or Moe's have.  But I cut him some slack since it was just home game #2 of the year.  Our orders came with chips and salsa.  The chips were a bit too greasy and the salsa very bland.  Our food was better than average for ballpark food.  It was not as good as a restaurant would serve, but for the ballpark,I guess it was not too bad.  Certainly there is room for improvement. 

Once finished with lunch, we head back to our seats and kick back and try to enjoy the game.  And for the first 5 innings, things went OK.  Not great, but OK.  Trailing 3-2, the Braves starting pitcher was struggling.  With men on base, Gonzalez, the Braves manager, calls to the bullpen.  The next thing I know, the bases are loaded with no outs.  The Braves reliever, up 0-2, grooves a pitch over the fat part of the plate.  Bam, Grand Slam.  Game over.  At least not then, but it sure seemed like it.  The game played out quickly from there with the Braves giving up a few more runs.  We take off in the 8th to get a head start on traffic.  And after getting to the car, I realize the highlight of the game was eating lunch and enjoying a cold beer while watching warmups from our covered shaded perch overlooking first base.

I guess it could be worse.  But certainly I was very pleased with the friendliness and attentiveness of the employees at Turner Field.  Maybe it was just the fact that it was Game 2 and its early in the season.  I sure hope not because the Turner Field folks did a great job.  I had a great visit to the ballpark and a great afternoon.  At least until the game started.  The team needs to start playing  better or the nice folks working at Turner Field will be working to a sparse crowd.  I'm still not in love with baseball.  Not even a little bit. But I will at least try to fit in another game or two should tickets fall into my lap again.  Will I pay my own money?  Probably not.  At least not yet.  Lets see how the team does.  I'll check back later this year and see how things are going.