I don't need to be the one to tell you of the disgusting loss the Red Sox had for their opener against the Rays but I can tell you my in person experience at Tropicana Field. First off let me say that my fiance and I decided to get tickets while we're down here visiting in Florida so we got tickets digitally on our phone. Now I'm not going to pretend like I'm the biggets baseball fan. I don't know the player's stats, I don't know all their names or numbers, but at least I know the game of baseball itself and how it's played. With that being said, my fiance is the big fan. He's played baseball all his life, knows the players, can talk the talk and walk the walk so needless to say he was very excited for this game and excited to see Chris Sale start. I was just along for the ride (literally, as it was an hour and 45 mins away from Orlando).
My gripes about the whole experience start before we even enter the field! As I said earlier, we had our tickets digitially so we need to have them load and show on our phone to enter the park. Well that was easier said than done as neither one of us could get our internet service to load because everyone else and their mother was on the network. Yet we still had to wait in the obnoxiously long line to get to the ticket gate to ask someone for help accessing our tickets. Side note, that's another gripe, the abnormally none moving line to get into the park! I understand it's opening day and it's busy but these people were not prepared for this because it was at a standstill even at 4 o' clock when the first pitch was thrown. I thought maybe it was just our section and there were stupid people up at the front but oh no, I heard a lady on the radio after the game calling into the local sports station complaining as well about how unprepared the staff and the park were and she declared herself as a Rays fan! So it wasn't some sour Sox fan complaining, it was their own people (the few they have), but I digress. After waiting in the long line we finally get up to someone to ask for help accessing our tickets and we encountered the rudest staff I've ever met. The first lady literally shrugged and threw up her hands not knowing what to do and then tried to get her supervisor. Okay...get the supervisor because we have tickets and need to be directed to access them. Then the supervisor comes over and talk about ignorant. She had a tude from the get go. My fiance is the politest person and he was calmly asking her for help and we were not in the way of the rest of the line so we weren't holding anyone up from entering the park, just off to the side and yet she coped an attitude and physically caused a scene and pointed and told him to leave and go over to the box office as if she was scolding him. Okay lady use some manners and you're a supervisor? It gets better. My fiance walked away leaving me there waiting, the supposed supervisor approaches me, asks if I'm "with him" and I say, "yes", and she literally comes over to me, ushers me out the door and says "buh bye". Excuse me? Once again I was courteous and not in the way of the crowd entering, just off to the side and mind you I myself waited in that line already for like a half hour and this is how I was treated? I was pissed. Can you tell I'm salty? I'd like to say that Fenway would never treat someone that way, even an opposing fan. Her behavior was unacceptable. Needless to say I was disappointed and annoyed from the beginning.
The next thing that went wrong was that the concessions ran out of food. Yes, that's right, you heard me right, they ran out of some of their food early! It was the 3rd/4th inning and there was no more mac and cheese nor their famous meatball sub sandwiches that we heard the local radio call raving about. This is the equivalent of Fenway running out of Fenway Franks in the first half of the game. Are you serious? Oh and mind you, you didn't find this out till after you already waited for like 15 mins in line for them to tell you instead of announcing it. At this point I've had it with these people...
Then the last and final thing was the inevitable 8th inning downfall of the sox when they decided to have Joe Kelly plummet the game into the ground and blow our lead all while the 100 Rays fans rang their little cowbells as the rest of us "Chowdaheads" grumbled wondering where the heck is Kimbrel? What is going on? Ugh, it was disheartening and frustrating. Although I will say for the slim Rays fans that are around, I was amused by them calling all of us Boston fans, "Chowdheads" and telling us to "Go back to Boston, ya Chowdaheads". That's a new one, I enjoyed that. I enjoy a good heckling. I'll give them some props for that one.
Overall, it was not the best experience and I would say at least the weather was nice and we got some color but no, we were at an indoor park...needless to say it was a silent ride all the way back to Orlando...