Planes, Trains, and Running Shoes

I've heard great things about Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, so when my best friend from high school moved out to the Greater Cincinnati area earlier this year, I was looking forward to taking a week to go visit her and go check out the Reds' ballpark

I had flown into Cincinnati on Sunday and we decided to head to the game on Tuesday. The Pilot had a couple of days off, so he flew in and joined us for the game.

We couldn't have picked a better day to see the Reds play. Bronson Arroyo had a perfect game running into the 8th inning and then a no-hitter shortly thereafter before the Brewers scored 3 runs and tied the game. The Reds still came back to score another run and win the game which was fun.

I had heard great things about Great American Ballpark so I was excited to check it out. We got to the stadium shortly after the game started and made our way to our seats. 

Outside the stadium

Reds Country is definitely an accurate description. When I walked off the plane, the Jetway was plastered in Reds wallpaper. When I left, there was a TSA video at the airport demonstrating proper TSA security procedure featuring Reds mascots. This city takes baseball seriously. I like that in a ball team.

We had great seats. I paid $20 each for us to sit on behind the 3rd base line. A baseball team that charges reasonable prices for seats? I can definitely do that. The stadium seemed so small though! After coming home and looking at it, I realized that it actually holds a few hundred more people than CitiField does...but CitiField (home of the Mets) just seems massive in comparison. 



One plus, the stadium was packed. When I went to San Francisco and Philadelphia earlier this season, their stadiums were packed but they've both won the Fall Classic in the last few years...Cincinnati won their division in 2010 but it was their first win since 1990 so I was pretty surprised!

A few innings into the game, The Pilot and I got up to take our usual walk around the stadium. There wasn't as much to see as there are in most other parks, but I liked that you could walk around the whole park and that the stadium was right on the river. We popped into the Team Store so that he could get a hat and I could get a pin. They had a giant replica World Series statue inside the Team Store which was awesome.


The Reds also have a Hall of Fame, but you had to pay to get into it. What??? I've never been to a ballpark that charges you to get into their Hall of Fame...even the Yankees, who probably have the most robust Hall of Fame of any Major League team and could get away with charging for their Hall of Fame don't charge...and since they charge $3 more for beer than any other stadium, that's actually quite surprising. So that wasn't cool.

When we left the Team Store, we were making our way back to our seats when we ran into Rosie Red, one of the Reds' mascots. Well, let me tell you something. We asked that little b*tch for a picture and she was all up on The Pilot.

Back off Rosie, he's mine.

So we made our way back to the edges of our seats and watched anxiously as Bronson Arroyo threw a perfect game until the 8th and lost the no-hitter shortly after before Adolis Chapman (The Cuban Missile) closed the game giving the Reds a 4-3 win over Milwaukee.

I'm a big fan of teams that shoot fireworks after each home run and a win.

So there you have it, my trip to Cincinnati. I had a great time at the game and what a great game to see! The stadium wasn't one of my favorites, and I don't think I'd put it in my Top 10 but it was nice and a perfect night for a game.