Under the awning of the midnight sun, a
holler of “play ball” resonated with a packed house at Growden Memorial Park on
June 21. With the bleachers at capacity and a cold one in hand the root, root,
roots for the home team started early. A mic mishap during the National Anthem
resulted in the entire crowd picking up where the singer left off—it felt good
to be an American!
The Alaska Goldpanners took on the
Everett Merchants and every pitch, call and play was met with a hearty reply
from the crowd— a bit raucous, but all in good fun. Being a novice baseball
watcher, learning the ropes from these veteran fans was entertainment in
itself. I’ll keep in mind a foul ball is usually met with a foul mouth
(especially after four in a row)! It was a long night of baseball that resulted
in a Goldpanner win, 7-5.
More than the game, more than the packed
house, more than the non-guilt of consuming more than one hot dog, was a sense
of community. A community that packs into a stadium at 10:30 pm—for the last
107 years—to watch America’s game under a cloudless, artificial-light-less sky.
Where else on earth can this be done? Nowhere!
-Elisabeth Dabney
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