Minor League Baseball and Bowling, Small Town Pleasures

This summer I've rediscovered two of the greatest pleasure of small town America; minor league baseball and bowling. Bowling I rediscovered on a boring night with some friends. We went on a Tuesday evening, had a couple beers, joked around and bowled. We then realized the bowling alley had a deal for unlimited bowling after 9 till close for 13 bucks. So you go bowl 5-6 games and have a good time with your friends. I must caution you, bowling can go very wrong. If you go too often, or if you care too much about how you do, you're in for trouble. However if you make up fake names that show on the screen anytime you get a spare or strike you're on the right track. something like Ice Princess for your buddy Jim or Malibu in honor of our favorite American Gladiator will do fine. You should be competitive with your friends, competition is fun after all, but its an absolute must that you realize it's still bowling, it's not that important. The more you quote the Big Lebowski the better.

Minor league baseball i rediscoved at a New Jersey Jackals game in Montclair, NJ. Most minor league baseball, like the stadium in Montclair, is played is small little stadiums that are beautifully built providing a more than picturesque setting to see a game. In addition to the beautiful stadium is the fact that you can actually afford to go. Tickets are less than 10 bucks a game, so bring friends, family whoever, and buy them a meal since that's less expensive than major league parks too. When i went the other night it was 60's night, which meant in addition to 60's music being played, beer was $2 a bottle. This is something a recent college grad is not going to complain about. Thursday night is a food drive which is nice, but beer is also $1 a bottle on Thursdays, so guess were I'll be?

Another great part about minor league baseball is you don't have to care. It's not the Yankees, no one here is going to the world series, so if they lose the game is it really that big a deal?No, and that's important because when the Jackals lost the other night in extra innings that didn't ruin my time at the park one bit. Now if you want to get behind your minor league team and really root for them, that's great, but i say, go, enjoy the game, hope the home team wins, and if not go home happy anyways.

You also don't have to deal with huge crowds in the parking lots or being put in crappy seats; there generally isn't a bad seat in the house. Heckling is also a underrated part of the minor league experience. You're close to the action, and they can hear you. Now don't be vulgar, there's kids around, and don't be too malicious these guys aren't paid enough. However have some fun, when the ump makes a bad call give him a 'hey blue wadda ya talkin about' or if a batter botches a bunt give him a 'hey buddy, way to get the job done there.'

Lets be honest with ourselves, small town America is kinda boring. However, by rediscovering some of the smaller pleasures available to us we can definitely make it at least a little better.