Official Blue Crabs Recap: https://somdbluecrabs.wordpress.com/2016/09/03/blue-crabs-drop-opener-in-bridgeport/
It had been a while since we had been to a baseball game. With the end of July and start of August our options seemed to go down. We actually went to a CT Tigers game that I haven't written about yet and might not write about (Time will tell, but I will likely at least put up autograph photos) and then there was a Bees game we were to go to which was just so hot we didn't want to sit out in the heat and since we got free tickets we just skipped it. But now we've made it to one of my favorite games of this season and not just because of the theme of the night but because of everything surrounding it really.
When I learned online that there would be an nWo meet and greet at this game, I knew right away we had to go and do it. I've always wanted to meet Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and X-Pac and for the three of them together it seemed quite rare. The ticket price for one item autographed (by each member) and a photo was $50. However, this also included a ticket to the game itself, which was valued at $12. So, $38 really for the photo and autograph, which divided by three is about $12 per nWo member and, well, I've tried to see wrestlers in the past at wrestling events and it's usually something like *at least* $15 for an autograph, $15 for a photo and then $25 for both, though I know these guys would be more than that. (Jushin Lyger was recently here in CT but the price was too high for me because you also needed to buy a ticket for the event to get into the meet and greet)
Right into the gate I had problems because online it said there would be a "Freebie Friday" and when I asked the girl about it who took our tickets she said they only did freebies like that on Mondays and not only was it not Monday (Thanks, Jane Calendar) but that they had stopped those for the season. I would later inform someone else in the gift shop of this and she would straighten it all out for us though, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We got into the Ballpark at Harbor Yard then into the nWo line and the employee there tried to yell at me for only having one ticket and going down the steps with Quentin and I'm like, "I'm not sending him alone!" and they backed off. We weren't that far back in line and everything seemed to be running smoothly for an autograph signing. People weren't really spending a lot of time talking with the nWo but there seemed to be no real hurry for photos.
Now here comes a funny story, which might only be funny to me. There were two guys in front of us who appeared to be together and then in front of them was a guy by himself. So the guy in front of them asked the guys in front of me if they could take a picture for him, to which they agreed. When we got up closer though, we realized a woman with a Blue Fish shirt on was actually taking pictures for people and so she did end up taking a photo for that one guy by himself. However, when the guys in front of us got up to their turn that woman flat out disappeared (or took ten steps to the left). I had asked Quentin if he wanted me to be in the picture with him since it looked like that lady might take it, but that became a moot point when she bailed.
I didn't know what to get the nWo members to sign and as much as I like action figures I didn't feel like carrying them around and all that. We've been buying random packs of the WWE trading cards for 2016 to get the NXT cards mainly and we somehow managed to get cards for each of these three guys, so it just worked out that we pulled them from packs and were able to get their cards signed, which also seemed fitting given the baseball setting. (Though I was looking for an nWo baseball on eBay, which didn't pan out). When X-Pac signed his card he tried to slide it down to Nash, which was funny, and all three of them shook hands with me and said "Hi" and everything but they were most responsive with Quentin and rightfully so.
Now if I can just take a moment here to say something: I'm sure that these three guys have been asked just about everything and anything by fans a thousand times over. Guys like me- who watched them in and before the Monday Night Wars- are probably a dime a dozen to them. But the kids... The kids keep the industry alive, much like baseball is kept alive by the youth. Scott Hall did the "Too Sweet" hand gesture with Quentin, as did X-Pac, and it was just a lot of fun for him to interact with them and between The WWE Network and even the current product to an extent, Quentin has been exposed to these guys still on television and it's just such a great time to be alive.
Most people took photos by standing behind the nWo as they sat at the table. For whatever reason, Kevin Nash picked up Quentin and put him on his lap which I thought was just awesome. As we were leaving, after the photo, Kevin Nash seemed like he didn't want to say goodbye to Quentin and they kept shaking hands and doing the "Too Sweet" gesture and at one point Kevin Nash even acted like Quentin had broken his arm by shaking his hand. I broke down the logic of the price earlier on, but really, for this memory, for this experience... It was priceless.
And on a side note, since this hasn't even really been about baseball yet, when I was a kid I went to a lot of wrestling events with my mom back before these guys were nWo but also when they were nWo and so we printed out the picture of Quentin with them to give to my mom (his grandma) who we would see two days later for Labor Day and she seemed to really appreciate that as well. So it was kind of like the gift that kept on giving and it was totally worth it for me (and Quentin and everyone else who spread the love)
Now we've seen the Blue Fish win at New Britain Stadium but in terms of home games for us they are 1-1 so this was kind of a big game for us as well, as it would likely be our last Blue Fish game of the season. The first time we saw the Blue Fish at home they lost to the Ducks and then more recently they defeated the Bees and neither time did Endy Chavez play. Well, Endy Chavez did play tonight (even though the line up board across from the cotton candy guy remained blank all night) and not only did he play but he was a big part of the game as he drove in a number of RBIs.
Perhaps my favorite play of the game came when there was a runner on first and the Blue Fish played "Day-oh". I said "How can they send him home from first? He's not in scoring position!" Sure enough, Endy Chavez lined a ball down the third base side for a double. The thing was, when he hit that ball I watched it drop. Then I looked over and Endy Chavez was near first and the runner who was on first at the time was already rounding third. Wow was he fast. I guess the Blue Fish knew what they were doing when they played "Day-Oh" and that was just one example of when Endy Chavez brought someone home.
The Blue Fish played in nWo jerseys and the nWo were special guest managers, which meant they spent the night in the dugout and at one point X-Pac even came out and was first base coach. As this was our second Blue Fish game of the season at home it would have been acceptable to see them in their home uniforms simply because we were seeing Endy Chavez play at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard for the first time, but having the nWo themed jerseys just seemed to make it better for photos.
The game wasn't really back and forth but more like the Blue Fish just getting ahead and staying on top. Also, I caught my first foul ball at this game, so it will go down in my own sort of personal history book for that reason as well. Quentin and Gina got up at one point to get food, and so this guy with two kids ended up sitting behind me briefly and when a foul ball rolled down the roof he went for it so I really just kind of watched because he had two kids with him and Quentin wasn't there so I wasn't about to fight him for it even though he was closer to the center of the row and it dropped right behind me. Later on though when Quentin and Gina were back a similar situation occurred only this time no one was there to fight me for it, so I just turned around (Still in my seat) and bare-handed it, though it smacked my hand and bounced out so I had to pick it up. Two staff members asked me if I was okay, which was nice.
So I have to admit that the first time we saw the Blue Fish at home it was nice because they played the Ducks and they might even have a better rivalry than the Blue Fish and Bees because a) the Bees didn't exist last season and b) Long Island is somewhat closer than New Britain in terms of it being across the water. Seeing the Bees was also a plus but I like the idea of the two Blue teams playing each other as well. I don't know, maybe next season we'll try and see every team play at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard since it's just never been a bad experience there with the atmosphere and all.
Quentin and BB also got along greatly, as at one point BB wanted Quentin to put his hood on so he could be Pikachu and later Quentin showed him his little stuffed BB toy (which is not the same one they have for sale in the gear shop mind you) and they just seemed to be best friends, as BB sat next to Quentin in front of us for a bit. If Quentin could somehow get a Blue Fish cape or something and follow BB around all game as his sidekick I think he'd really love that. I also posted to Instagram that Quentin and BB were besties now and BB replied with "Pretty much", so I don't know if such a contest exists but I'm still saying BB is the best mascot perhaps ever for any sporting team in history.
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