My first Fenway experience (long)
I was in Boston for business all week and really wanted to catch a Sox game. So i talked to 2 of my best friends to get tickets. Turns out, my friend's boyfriend and cousins own 8 season tickets, apparently great seats.
Friday night comes and we start by getting a few pitchers of Sam Adams at the Cask and Flagon. From there we walk to our seats. Literally, 4 rows from the field, about 20 feet behind 3rd base. So as we sit down, with more beers, my boy Drew and I say to each other, "these are the best seats I've ever had for anything". He goes, yeah, Lightning could strike me and I wouldn't get out of this seat. I said no shit, a bomb could drop on my head and I ain't leaving.
Oh the foreshadowing.
4th inning rolls around and Frank Thomas is up to bat. The Big Hurt. More foreshadowing. So I am leaning forward in my seat, beer in right hand, left hand free, both elbows on my knees. I'm talking to my buddy and watching the game when Frank Thomas smokes a low line drive towards the 3rd base line. The following happened in the next 5 seconds:
The ball is headed foul, wide of 3rd base, but it's trajectory should put it into the fence separating the seats from the field. It must have had a lot of top spin because it dove into the grass about 6-10 feet wide of 3rd and about 15-20 feet in front of me. I stop talking to my buddy, and turn my head a little bit to the right. The ball takes OFF once it hits the grass and jumps right at me, I go to put my left hand up to catch/block/get in the way of the ball. Right hand on beer. Too late, as my hand gets to about my cheek and nose and the ball crushes my mellon, about 1/2 inch about my left eye. Honest to god I didn't flinch. I turn to my buddy and ask "how bad is it". He says "dude, you're gonna need to put something on that. It's pretty bad". I noticed my blood had splattered all over him.
The next 5 minutes were interesting. I felt my face get wet and warm. Blood is literally pouring out of my face and my entire section is freaking out. Women are screaming "call 911"..."get an EMT". People are handing me dirty napkins to put pressure on the wound. (thanks folks). An EMT and an usher come running down and tell me I have to leave, and tell them "No freaking way. this is my first Sox game, I'm from out of town and these are the best seats I;ve ever had". I debated with them for a few minutes, covering myself and my section in blood. Finally a cop comes over and says "buddy, it's pretty bad, you have to go". Fine, I get up to leave, an EMT gives me a wad of sterile gauze to put on my head. As I walk up from my seat I got a standing O from the entire stadium...no shit. I raised a triumphant fist in the air to the ovation.
Got to the ER, and I was "that guy" that all the doctors wanted to see. Laceration was down to the bone. Don't even want to tell you how painful it was to "irrigate the wound". 4 hours, 14 stitches and 1 tetanus shot later, I was given my walking papers.
The doctors and medical staff were great. The sad part is, no one from the Red Sox organization stopped in the EMT station at the stadium or the hospital to see if the guy who got decapitated in section C was OK. No phone call either.
Finally, to the scumbag who kept the ball that has my DNA on it and kept it. You stay classy.