So I’ve been following glb for a few years now, and feel like its about time I contribute something instead of just freeloading entertainment at work. Before i continue, i want to make it clear to all that I hate, check that, I despise the Dodgers and like their fans even less. I have never wasted an opportunity to say something nasty to anyone I see with Dodger gear on. I don’t let cars with LA bumper stickers merge in front of me on the free way (which is often considering i go to school and work in LA County). I have literally burnt a friends Dodgers hat to ashes.

Naturally I was really excited to see the Pads would be playing up here this past week and instantly made plans to go to both games at the Latrine. Now, when I said I bought tickets for both games, I was realistically expecting to be watching the second game from a comfortable hospital bead (lets just say I have an uncanny ability to make opposing fans angry, I almost got jumped by a little old lady at the D-bags game at Petco last week for calling her blanket a towel). You see, i naturally had the image of all dodger fans as what we see at Petco, you know the ones that get plastered, angry, violent, etc. Let’s just say I’ve had my life threatened at several Pads-Dodger games in SD.

After the series, and in one piece I have to admit I had a pleasant experience at the games and am a little jealous of their fan base. Before I’m crucified let me explain. On Tuesday night, me and another Pads fan who drove up from SD for the games sat in the dreaded Left Field aka MannyWould (do steroids). From everything i heard, these fans would be vicious, and make my life hell which I was totally pumped for. Got to the game around 6:45, there were probably 6 other people there (that whole late thing is something I don’t envy at all). By game time rolled around, it was filling up (36,000 on a Tuesday night, i think we average like 14,000 on those nights) we got into some friendly banter with a few fans behind us, joking around about "Manny the tranny", Russell Martin being Alyssa Milano's catcher, stealing on CY, the basics. I’m not gonna lie the dudes were funny and knew their stuff. 

*Observation 1: almost everyone there wore Dodgers gear, a hat, jersey, t-shirt, or jacket. . . just repping their team. The accepted dress code at Petco is a dress shit, v neck sweater and khakis. That lack of city or team pride at Petco gets me going every time. Back to the game...

Pads jump out to a quick 2-0 lead and if TG2 didn’t throw 4 pump fakes before trying to steal 3rd it would have been 3. Bot 1, Chase trots out to play Left and the fans waste no time getting on him. While the 80 year old grandma yelling to Headley about giving her "Head" and requesting to know if Chase spits or swallows, is really creepy especially when she’s holding a random five year old in her lap, and the revelation that the average Dodger fans cannot construct a sentence without using the word "Suck", I appreciated that the fans were actually into the game.

* Observation 2: everyone there knew what was happening and was loud and into what was going on, instead of reading there novels during the game and spending 3 innings in a sushi bar at the stadium. Also, their fans don’t need a scoreboard effect or the pad squad to tell them when to cheer.

* Observation 3: Latrine staff actually let you cheer. I have been asked to "pipe" down for cheering and asked to watch my language for saying the word "blow" at Petco.

We know what happens after the first, CY pitches homerun derby for a few innings. We try to come back before Giles (inexplicably hitting 3rd) chokes on his batting gloves in the 9th. We lose. I get to hear it on my way out.

Come back Wednesday night, Latrine ugly as ever, sit top deck. Again funny guys in front of us, who were nice enough to share there smuggled in Vodka with some girls that were with us. While they claimed they would be jumping us if they hadn’t been arrested at the stadium the week before, they were decent enough. They even had my back for yelling at a guy wearing a yankees hat (my pet peeve, random teams stuff to a game), and making fun of a Jesus look a like (even though he was a fan of the Dodgers of the Nazareth). Highlight of the night was convincing said Jesus look a like he could walk on empty seats like he could on water, only to watch him stumble and plummet three rows only to be handcuffed minutes later. Pads go up early, Correia is a stud. I get to get mine and spend the rest of the game yelling at Dodgers fans, except the ones with face tats.

*Observation 4: their fans can take some trash talk and like the banter. I have heard very little legit back and forth trash talk at Petco.

So ya, all in all. Good few days. Pretty fun baseball too. I hope someday Petco can have that atmosphere and 40,000 on a Wednesday in our beautiful ballpark.

*Observation 5: The Latrine is awful. Worst stadium layout ever, just awful and ugly and bad.