Our Night in the Crawford Boxes

Let me begin by saying, Happy Birthday Chad! It was Chad's 30th birthday on Sunday and we celebrated the whole weekend long. It has long been a dream of Chad's to sit in the Crawford boxes at an Astros Game. I don't know which is better: the view.....


or the balls that we might potentially get. So I had a brilliant idea of getting tickets to the Friday night game for Chad for his birthday. The morning I was getting on the computer to buy them, he calls from work and says, "Hey, can we get tickets in the Crawford boxes on Friday for my birthday? I found some really great seats and tickets!" I was enthusiastic about it, since I have always wanted to sit in the Crawford boxes too, so, frankly I didn't really care that much that he spoiled his surprise. Add to that the excitement of having the promotional item be a red Astros jersey, and we were pumped for the game. Luckily, it did not disappoint.



We got there in time for batting practice, and Chad, with glove in hand, kept his eyes on the balls that came flying in our direction. There were a couple that came really close to us and that he almost caught. I, on the other hand, did not bring a glove and started having flashbacks of my softball days when my nine year old, athletically challenged self was more inclined to run and duck from incoming balls than run at them. It was exciting to say the least. Once the actual game started, our excitement lagged because the opposing team had two home runs and so we were behind 2-0, and there were hardly any hits from the Astros that made it to the outfield, let alone the Crawford boxes. We were however entertained at that time by Drunken Man in Front Row giving an inspiring monologue about how "One Man Can Make a Difference." (It went something like this, add in slurring as desired: "If you think, one man can make a difference, then I want you all to get up right now, and yell, GO ASTROS). And then, (cue the music), Hunter Pence came up to bat. I could blog a whole lot more about Hunter Pence alone. But let's just say he's my favorite player and I always enjoy when he's up to bat. Or in the field. Or in the dugout. And as he always does, Hunter Pence came through. He hit a home run, and started some momentum with the bats that eventually led to 4 more home runs, one more which came from him, and 5 (including one of the Brewers) of those coming into the Crawford boxes. Wow, one man really can make a difference, we marvelled (excepting that Drunken Man was referring to himself at the time). So Chad was grabbing at balls left and right, and I was trying to shield myself with his body (not as easy anymore, with 22 lbs less Chad to hide behind). When the 'Stros pulled ahead and stayed ahead for the victory, Chad and I were slapping high fives all around. It was all very fun and we enjoyed every minute. And the food... as we contemplated on the way to the game how much we should derail from the South Beach lifestyle, Chad reminded me very solemnly, "we came here for a reason..." and so with that in mind, Chad had chicken strips and french fries, I had a hot dog, and then we shared some Supreme Nachos. Yes, in the picture, if you notice my stomach pooching out a bit (or a lot) it is because we took that picture after the food was consumed. And it was worth every bite. I love stadium food. We were tempted by the cotton candy that came down our row by Retired Televangelist Turned Cotton Candy Hawker: "COT-ton CAN-dy, Cotton CanDAY" (in his best Hallelujah voice). Luckily for our waistlines, we turned down the spun pure sugar. And they even had fireworks that night, like they do every Friday Night, and so that was even another added bonus. All in all, even though we didn't catch a ball, we came really close and now we know where to sit and what to do next time we sit in the Crawford boxes, which, I hope is sooner than later.