Defend your Nuts

When I was younger, I went to baseball games in the Diamond when the Richmond Braves were still around and the Indian poked his head out of the side of the stadium. It's everything you would expect to see at the major leagues, albeit on a smaller scale: the hammered fans and peanut-covered aisles were part of America's pastime.

The Indian statue "Connecticut" usually pokes his head through that white building below the stands on the right. I hear he ended up somewhere along the James River

A lot has changed since then. They're the Richmond Flying Squirrels now, and the whole ballpark management has seen a serious overhaul.

You could see the Richmond skyline from here. And the free t-shirts never seemed to reach you.

I was hoping for a more intimidating name, like the Raptors or Raiders. But the city put the team name up to a public vote. From what I heard at the time, some wiseass thought it would be funny to submit "Flying Squirrels" over 200 times. Other names in contention were Rock Hoppers, Rhinos, and Hush Puppies (...really?).

The joke's on that guy, though, because the Diamond took the name in stride, producing official merchandise and heavily advertising their sleek new mascot. Local advertisements and sponsors are on every support column and wall, professing their love for their new team. If they're trying to build a brand, it's working. I've seen quite a few people in and around Blacksburg wearing their hats.

They were selling "Squirrels gone wild" trucker hats for $5. Those poor, unsuspecting kids. 

What impressed me when I saw a game for the holiday weekend was the family atmosphere. Well-behaved kids with gloves and whole rows of relatives filled the stands, and you're not sitting on dirty concrete slabs with some drunk guy yelling into your ear. Creating this kind of atmosphere takes years, and isn't easy.

Inside the men's bathroom. The world needs more stuff like this.

The food vendors are all high-school/ college kids, and I can't think of a better fit for them. A friend of mine from Tech was at work that night, and makes a killing in tips, while working every other week. Makes me wish I had done it last summer.

My friend Lucas recently got promoted to beer vendor. Such great power has been placed in this young man's hands.

The game itself had its ups and downs, but I wouldn't say this is a place for baseball aficionados. It's the perfect first date, family outing, and friendly get-together all rolled into one convenient place. And the nut puns were kept to a minimum, as disappointing as that was.

They didn't play the Katy Perry song during this show. Thank God.

Cheers,

Ben