Shea Hey

I went to Shea Stadium last night for the first time, got tickets for $2. That's about what I'd want to pay for the Mets. Can't remember the last time I went to a baseball stadium for the first time. Shea's a weird stadium, being in the city, but away from anything really. You can get there on the subway, but I can't imagine many people walk there. It's not the kind of place, like the Fleet Center or Madison Square Garden, where you might meet someone for dinner before a game and then head to the stadium. You might meet a guy about doing bodywork on your late-model car, but not dinner.

As are so many stadiums contemporary to Shea, it is ugly and without character. The only saving grace is that it's not a complete ring and you can actually see water from the stands. Other than that, it's kind of a who cares place. Light crowd, so we moved down a level and got much better seats. The game itself was decently entertaining as Aaron Heilmann pitched a complete game one-hitter and the Mets won 4-0.

The only other amusement came from the idiot community college types behind us. One of them, in very typical guy fashion (I don't know a single woman who does this) chose a phrase and repeated it over and over again. Anytime something would happen on the field or someone in the stands would attempt to lead a cheer or get people to do the wave, he would yell out in a game show announcer voice "That's the way you do it. That's it." Being male, I laughed. If you ask my sister who was with me at the game what the guy said every two minutes, she probably could not tell you.

For those who care to comment on blogs, why does this work for guys and not for women? What is your favorite oft-repeated phrase, by a buddy of yours or within your circle of fella friends?