My first trip to Bank One Ballpark<br>

Upon arriving at Bank One Ballpark, the only thing I thought was “It looks like a hangar for housing the Goodyear Blimp.” There used to be one such hangar along I-10 near my small Texas town until a hurricane uprooted and demolished it, so take my word as the truth.

But, upon entering the facility, I was amazed. The outside alone was spectacular. The columns, the art in the floor and on the walls, and especially the large posters of D-Back favorites were an awesome addition to the outside of a “blimp hangar.”

I received my press credentials and then headed towards the administrative offices. The group of people from Winslow that were going onto the field were scheduled to meet there. For those who know me, or have had meetings scheduled with me, I am always about five minutes late, and Sunday was no exception.

As I rushed through a security checkpoint and managed to make our meeting on time, I finally had a few minutes to stop and look around me. “If they put this amazing detail into the decorating of the administrative offices and outside, imagine what they’ve done for the field,” was the thought running through my mind.

Once we entered the stadium and headed down to the field, I couldn’t believe my eyes. This hangar-looking structure was actually a beautifully crafted building filled with thousands of people cheering and yelling.

Our group was introduced and the cheers erupted once more (mainly coming from a very loud group of people in the third section). I could only imagine what it must be like for the players. We were just there to represent our town; they are there to entertain us by playing one of the best sports our country has.

When the cheers filled the air, I could honestly feel the energy raining down on me. I’m just glad people weren’t booing because I think I might have thrown up.

Once our time was complete and our brick had been presented, the group headed up to enjoy the game. And what a game it was. I’m no sports writer, but I know I had fun, and that’s all that matters to me.

I think the best part of the game was the recognition Winslow received. First, with the pre-game inclusion, and then, with our being shown on the Jumbotron. It was great to look on the screen and see a familiar face or two. I even made it on there a couple of times, and that was really exciting.

The best part, in my humble opinion, was the beer vendor who kept singing our song. What a salesman! I hope a few of our great citizens bought some of his beverages just to say thanks for recognizing us.

But, the most important part of the day was realizing that those two sections of screaming fans weren’t just there to root on the Diamondbacks, they were also there to root on Winslow. Over 450 of our citizens made a six hour trip to show their support for their town.

They forgot petty differences for one day and yelled proudly for Winslow. They forgot about troubles at home and enjoyed our national pastime together as a community.

But this shouldn’t be a one-day thing. We should remember every day we are all citizens of Winslow. Citizens of a great place with great people.

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