Addie Smith | Sports Editor
All my life, my family members have told me “there is nothing like experiencing a playoff baseball game in person,” and all I did was scoff at them. I had been to NHL and NBA playoff games before (remember when the Wizards were good?), what makes the atmosphere of a playoff baseball game so different?
So, when I woke up on Monday morning with an urgent “Call me ASAP” text message from my mom, obviously I was a little wary of what was going to happen when I called her. What was I in trouble for this time? However, there was good news on the other line, my uncle wanted to buy me tickets to the Pirates-Cardinals game that afternoon for an (extremely) early Christmas gift.
Now, I’m one of those people who has a tradition at baseball games. I always buy a soft pretzel (unless it’s at a Frederick Keys game, then I go for the Maryland kettle corn) and a souvenir size drink for the cup. At PNC Monday afternoon my tradition was no different and I now own an awesome Andrew McCutchen cup.
I then went to my seats in section 302. Yes, they were high up, but there is no bad seat at PNC Park and from my seat I could see all of the on-field action, the Pittsburgh skyline and the people attempting to watch the game from the Roberto Clemente bridge.
Once the game started, I cannot even fathom the appropriate way to describe the atmosphere. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The entire stadium seemed to erupt into an electric atmosphere. It’s one of those situations that’s hard to put into words. You’re screaming at the top of your lungs one second, then the next there’s complete silence. The people next to you will jolt up so quickly that you don’t comprehend what’s going on. You partake in chants that seem almost cult-like, but still are so much fun. You absorb an atmosphere
If you’ve never experienced playoff baseball before, it’s an experience I would recommend to you. If you have experienced it, you understand how magical and electric it truly is. I’ve never been in a place so incredible in my entire life, and I have attended Penguins playoff games.
If you’re a sports fan, not necessarily a baseball fan or a hockey fan or a football fan, but a sports fan, you need to attend a playoff baseball game. It will change the way you look at the sports world, you’ll find yourself becoming a member of a community, if only for the amount of time that the game takes place.
