Sunday, October 24, 2010

Brilliant.

Since Fox was dropped by the major cable providers in the New York metro area this week, we have been forced to be creative to watch the Giants/Phillies NLCS showdown.  (Twice, we were forced to watch an illegal live stream of a Spanish network's coverage, wired to a TV from a computer with a shoddy internet connection that tended to freeze every time the game got exciting.  Fun.)  Last night, tired of our makeshift solutions in the Bronx, we headed to the Upper East Side and its bountiful selection of sports bars and pubs for what turned out to be an extremely tense, extremely exciting, extremely weird game of baseball.  (Dropped balls?  Players hit by pitches?  Runners bowling catchers over?  Both teams storming the field?  Weird.)

So what is the "brilliant" all about?  The bar.  Why?  The bar food.  Particularly what?

TATER TOTS.

The end.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Charming New Yorkers

The title is sarcastic.  Kind of.  All week, I did a very brave (or perhaps foolish?) thing: I wore my Twins gear (hats, shirts, jerseys - anything and everything).  Normally, no one looks twice if you wear sports-affiliated clothing. In Minnesota, it's likely no one would even notice, much less care, if you wore an out-of-state team's jersey.  Not so in the Bronx.  On any given day, wearing non-New York baseball apparel will get you some strange looks.  Not necessarily hostile, but certainly quizzical, at the very least.  To New Yorkers, it's incomprehensible that anyone would care about any team except their own.  During playoffs, though, it changed.  I was wearing the enemy's colors.  I became a target.  Acquaintances asked me if I was following the games.  Friends cheered in solidarity or enmity.  Security guards bantered and heckled.  Strangers on the street, who normally never even look at your face, squinted and stared me down.

A little bit of team spirit at the bar

I was nervous - I wanted the Twins to do well.  Elena and I bravely ventured to a Bronx Applebee's to watch Game 1, wearing our Twins shirts and cheering loudly and enthusiastically.  The Yankees fans heckled us (yes, even at an Applebee's), but they were nervous.  And then it all fell apart.  As soon as the game was done, we scurried out as quickly as we could, still able to hear the raucous celebration inside.

In the hall of giants 

On Saturday, with little hope for a win, much less an ALDS title, I still proudly donned my red shirt, jersey, and cap.  The subway was my first interaction with the enemy game-goers.  Typical New York sass, but I was prepared.  Strategy?  Show them exactly what "Minnesota nice" means.  Respond with a smile, a laugh, and a refusal to be flustered by their banter.

 My second post-season Twins/Yankees match-up.  Can I hope for a third?

At the game, there were comments.  LOTS of comments.  Whenever we saw any other Twins fans, we'd shout and cheer and give high-fives.  Did the 49,500 Yankees fans feel threatened by the 500 Twins fans?  You'd think so, given their insecurity that necessitated their booing us everywhere we went.  When we walked up to our seats (one row from the very top), we heard comments such as, "Twins fans?!"  "BOOO!" and, "Go home!"  We laughed it off.

Unfortunately, the game did not go well - not at all.  It wasn't even close.  By the 8th inning, most Twins fans had already left, but we were staying until the very end.  At that point, the guy sitting next to us (who had first been obnoxious but gradually just turned into a goofball who was actually quite funny) decided it would be fun to alert the entire section that we were still there.  "HEY!  We've got TWINS fans up here!" he yelled, loudly.  The entire section turned around, pointed, booed, and started chanting, "Asshole!  Asshole!  Asshole!" at us.  We raised our arms, laughed, and cheered as loudly as we could for Minnesota.  Obviously, they didn't win, but we still made the best of the experience, enjoyed being at the ballpark, and began hoping for better luck next year.

Fans no matter what.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Tourists

My mom visited New York this weekend, meaning I finally had the chance to be a shameless tourist for a few days.  YES!  My favorite parts of the weekend were seeing The Lion King on Broadway (my first Broadway show - incredible!) and touring the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (sooo interesting).  More highlights:

 American Museum of Natural History - SPACE and DINOSAURS!  Great on a rainy day.

Crumbs.  Delicious as always. 

Beautiful view of the south end of the city from the Empire State Building 

Happiness in ice cream form: a Monday Sundae from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck 

I got to introduce my mom to the worth-the-wait deliciousness of Shake Shack.

Only in New York.

That Team Again

Another week.  Another Mets game.  This time, it was more exciting - unlike the Pirates, the Brewers were not the worst team in the country.  It was a close game, a fun game, and an exciting win.  The Mets were down in the 9th, but they pulled through to win.  It's always fun when the home team wins...as long as you're not cheering for the away team.  I know plenty about that.  More baseball coming soon...

In the awesome Einstein (free) seats again 

Mighty excited that we made it on the dance cam - TWICE!

Mickey and Mousey

Who in the world would rather study for an endocrine test than wander New York City with the one and only Mary, a.k.a. Mousey?  Certainly not me, which is what made last weekend fantastically fun-filled rather than sadistically study-filled.  My Friday consisted of over 9 miles of walking throughout the city, which may sound like a lot, but Mary easily covered double that because of her previous run and post-me-leaving wanderings.  Impressive, to say the least.

We began mid-Central Park and proceeded to go wherever we pleased...

Snaking through the city blocks, we made it to the "oldest bar in New York" for a cold, thirst-quenching round of beer on the hot afternoon.

Motorcaded dignitaries driving past, coming from the U.N. General Assembly.  Ridiculous headlines in the New York Post.  Times Square madness, crowding, and lights.  The cheapest Indian lunch buffet I've ever seen.  Beer in the afternoon.  "Jews for Jesus."  I'd say it was a successful day.

The next day, I headed to Staten Island to stay with the Lunds, the Coast Guard family that Mary had been staying with during most of her visit.  Totally incidentally, I happened to be on the ferry during sunset.

More beautiful than usual.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to make our way to Red Hook, Brooklyn, for the Tunnel to Towers race.  This race is run every year to commemorate firefighter Stephen Siller.  When he heard that the towers had been hit on 9/11, he abandoned his car at the blocked-off Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, running the length of the tunnel in his full gear to help at Ground Zero.  He lost his life that day, along with hundreds of other courageous civil servicemen.  This year, over 20,000 people ran in the 5K race, which takes the runners through the tunnel and around Battery Park, ending near Ground Zero.  It means a heck of a lot to a heck of a lot of people, and it was an incredible experience to be a part of it.

 20,000 people.  You can't even see the start, because it's about a quarter-mile away.

Oh, there's the start. 

Tunnel! 

Into the tunnel... 

To the finish!

Freedom Tower rising 

 A parade to honor the firefighters

And a fantastic concert by Montgomery Gentry