Of course he wore his Dale Murphy jersey.
It was really nice weather, sunny skies and temps in the 70s.
At the game on Saturday they did a big pre-game tribute to Bobby Cox. They had former Braves players walk in wearing team jerseys. Michael was really excited to see Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and of course Dale Murphy. I was excited to see Hank Aaron - the real home run king.
It was cute, at the tribute Chipper Jones represented the current players. He gave a nice speech and then presented Bobby and his wife a gift from the team - an 11 day Mediterranean cruise. (The Braves organization gave them a new Lexus.) We were wondering what is was like in the locker room getting the guys to pay - do they pass around an envelope and see what they collect? Some of these guys make really money, are they covering for the guys that are just making the minimum salary? Of course I think we can safely assume the players wives decided on the gift and just told each guy to write a check for a certain amount.
It was a really nice tribute for a well respected figure in baseball.
Sunday we had great seats for the game - right behind home plate. We were so close to home plate we were behind the net that keeps things from hitting the fans sitting behind home plate.
The games over the weekend were critical for the Braves getting to the post-season. They had to win and the Padres had to lose. The did win on Sunday and it was really exciting.
But the Padres were still playing the Giants and until the game on the West Coast was over we didn't know if the Braves would make it to the playoffs or not. The stadium put the Giants vs. Padres game on the Jumbotron and many fans stayed to watch the game and root for the Giants. (Being from San Diego I am partial to the Padres myself, so I wouldn't root against them, but around all of those Braves fans I wasn't rooting for them either!)
While the West Coast game was on the Jumbotron there was also a free concert - REO Speedwagon! Talk about a great flashback to the 80's. They sounded great and had really good energy but they definitely looked pretty old. It was kick to sing along with the songs I danced too back in the day.
Even though it was sunny there was a strong cold wind blowing. We kept moving seats to stay in the sun and try to stay warm.
In the photo below the Giants game is almost over - you can see Michael full of anticipation...
And the Giants win! One of the few times you'll see Michael happy about another team winning a game.
The players stayed in the clubhouse and were watching the Giants/Padres game. When the Giants won and the Braves knew they were going to the playoffs they showed the players celebrating in the locker room on the Jumbotron. After about 15 minutes they came out on to the field and celebrated with the fans.
Michael had a blast being there with his team and the fans for this big game moment.
Unfortunately the Braves lost to the Giants and didn't advance any further post season - probably because Michael wasn't in the stands to cheer them to victory.
