Honkies
Walking down Stadium Way toward Sunset Boulevard, I saw people leaning out of their car windows screaming, drivers honking their horns, and Audiovox speakers blasting Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam." No, the war is not over and the king is not dead. But in a crucial baseball game with playoff implications, the Dodgers rallied to beat the Padres 11-10 in the tenth inning.
The Blue Crew had been chasing the Pad Squad all night but could never get a lead. Then it happened. Down by four in the bottom of the ninth, Jeff "Pornstache" Kent, J.D. "Never Hits When It Counts" Drew, Russell "Wonder Boy" Martin, and Marlon "New Addition" Anderson knocked out consecutive solo home runs--something that has only happened three times in MLB history, the last time in 1964--only to see the San Diego club manufacture a go-ahead run in the top of the tenth. Nomar "Mr. Hamm" Garciaparra hit a two-run blast to end it.
Fans who stuck around to the end kept cheering well after Nomar rounded the bases, watching the highlights and refusing to leave. The celebration continued as the fans hopped in their cars and waited to exit the crowded parking lot.
In Chicago, Boston, New York, or even San Francisco, fans go straight to bars to bond and get loaded. Then they hop on a rail, train, or bus to crawl home. Not so in L.A., the town where Joan Didion cited freeway rush hour as our version of "secular communion." We celebrate in cars. It's weird, but it's cool, too.
I haven't seen a comeback or a celebration like this since the Stunner at Staples, when the L.A. Kings scored three goals in 6:07 of the third period and went on to beat the Red Wings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The traffic jam on Figueroa went going buck-wild, and no one wanted the gridlock to end. Hopefully, the Dodgers will get some more of that in the postseason.
The Blue Crew had been chasing the Pad Squad all night but could never get a lead. Then it happened. Down by four in the bottom of the ninth, Jeff "Pornstache" Kent, J.D. "Never Hits When It Counts" Drew, Russell "Wonder Boy" Martin, and Marlon "New Addition" Anderson knocked out consecutive solo home runs--something that has only happened three times in MLB history, the last time in 1964--only to see the San Diego club manufacture a go-ahead run in the top of the tenth. Nomar "Mr. Hamm" Garciaparra hit a two-run blast to end it.
Fans who stuck around to the end kept cheering well after Nomar rounded the bases, watching the highlights and refusing to leave. The celebration continued as the fans hopped in their cars and waited to exit the crowded parking lot.
In Chicago, Boston, New York, or even San Francisco, fans go straight to bars to bond and get loaded. Then they hop on a rail, train, or bus to crawl home. Not so in L.A., the town where Joan Didion cited freeway rush hour as our version of "secular communion." We celebrate in cars. It's weird, but it's cool, too.
I haven't seen a comeback or a celebration like this since the Stunner at Staples, when the L.A. Kings scored three goals in 6:07 of the third period and went on to beat the Red Wings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The traffic jam on Figueroa went going buck-wild, and no one wanted the gridlock to end. Hopefully, the Dodgers will get some more of that in the postseason.
posted by gr at
10:47 AM
Thats pretty awesome martin. When i heard the score, I was thinking of you.
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