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Review content:
Game time again, this time @ the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for the A's Home Game against Cleveland Indians on Fri 9/18/09...and well, it was last Firework's Night for the season too & we hadn't been in about 3yrs *tee-hee*
COLISEUM: BF-J & I made our way to the A's Game @ the Coliseum which drew a decent crowd of baseball fans, but definitely not a jam packed stadium. Some folks may choose to park in Coliseum parking lot, others may catch BART in, but folks like us park @ the Coliseum BART Station (ahem..FREE) & then walk over the ramp to the stadium. The Coliseum is really not a stadium to brag about, but it's part of Oakland & I'm proud to claim it ;-)
TASTES: Now my BF-J enjoys baseball, whereas I just enjoy stadium food to taste here & there =) Our favorite in the past @ the Coliseum have been their nachos! Stood in line @ Kona Brewing Co, peeped their menu, & we got our $6.50 Nacho Grande w/ ground beef, sour cream, cheese, & jalapenos. Service seemed to be moving slow behind the counter, but friendly & pleasant. Not the same kind of ""love"" we remember like 3yrs ago in our nachos...cheese was hot, jalapenos were fresh, but chips didn't seem exactly ""on crunch"" if u will. BF & I polished it off tho. Probably get this again next As Home Game...maybe we'll get quicker service & more ""love"" in the nachos next time. I was tempted to get a Rootbeer or Orange Crush Float next door for like $5.50, but frugal me said pass...hell I packed us some sodas & Capris to the game anyway.
FIREWORKS: Keyword here is ""Crowd Control"". 3yrs ago or so, you would typically crowd around the gates to the field by 8th/9th Inning w/ everyone else (60+ peeps), gates would open once game is over & field has been cleared, once you made it to the bottom steps it was a ""run a find a spot on the field & claim it""...so not the case anymore! ""Crowd Control"" ...NOW, they rope off an area in front of the gates to the field to keep folks from blocking the walk-way (pretty much like what movie theaters do opening night/wkend on an expected box office hit), once gates open, you walk down the stairs where u're greeted by yellow jacket Coliseum employees directing traffic to stay inside yellow tape area to find a spot on the field. Maybe someone got hurt in the past 'cuz it was a chaotic situation & staff realized they should find a way to avoid that again....""Crowd Control"" was a surprise yet a step well taken (in my opinion). Journey - ""Lights"" still the song intro for fireworks display ...and as far as I'm concerned, A's Fireworks Night is still awesome!
9TH INNING: Game ends w/ A's 2 & Indians 1. Typical stand & wait 10min outside Coliseum (for those needing to walk towards BART) while the Fire Marshall clears the area where fireworks were launched, then everyone is hip to hip, or shoulder to shoulder, walking back over the ramp. Overall, ok game, ok-blah nachos, & great fireworks...a good Friday night for us.
Pros: Better crowd control for A's Fireworks Nights
Cons: Could be quicker cust svc @ food vendors
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