Baseball and hot dogs; separately, enjoyable aspects of a summer's day. Collectively, a tour-de-force!
The Nooner is a Vancouver tradition; a promotion of the Canadians baseball club, as an effort to attract crowds to the sparsely attended early afternoon games. Until 1999, the city was home to triple-A baseball, a farm club, just a step below the major league. After that season, however, the team moved to Sacramento and became the River Cats. Not wanting to leave the bleachers of Nat Bailey Stadium empty, a single-A short-season club was acquired. "The Nat" is jewel of a ballpark; harkening to an era when a sleepy community would come alive on game days. Behind the grandstand sits a quiet neighbourhood in Central Vancouver, beyond the outfield fence rests Queen Elizabeth Park.
While I was not fortunate to see the former Canadians play, I can imagine that the backward leap in skill from AAA to short-season A must have had an impact at the box office. Perhaps this is why The Nooner was introduced... at any rate, it is an inexpensive excuse to get Vancouverites out to the ballpark. This particular day, my friend Lindsay and I took advantage of the promo and basked in the warm weather.
Regardless of the sporting event, I'm getting a hot dog 9 out of 10 times. When it comes to baseball, it's not a question of if, it's a question of when. As I passed under the "Welcome to Nat Bailey Stadium" sign, the aroma of popcorn hit my nostrils. Popcorn acts as a secondary olfactory indicator to me- wherever there is popped corn, there is heated dogs.
Linds and I took our "assigned seats" and I went on a beer run. The lines can get fairly long, as there aren't many snack stands. However, if you are looking to acquire quick beer at the Nat, here's how: on the 3rd base side, almost to the end of the concourse, is where the bleacher beer vendors refill their trays. You can catch one of them coming out the door.
Around the 3rd inning, it was hot dog time. I picked up the footlong, which came in a lightly sesame'd bun, and headed to the condiments station. There is something about using a pump to accessorize your meat, instead of a squeeze bottle. Moving the dog horizontally and pumping the proper amount of sauce requires some finesse, for you never know what may happen; you could misjudge the pressure and need to repump, screwing up your distribution. You could hit an air pocket and end up with with an explosion of condiment all over your dog, hand, and face (it's happened to me). Truly, one hand's vertical motion must align with the other's horizontal; the hallmark of a perfect hot dog condiment pump.
I wish I could say the home team was victorious, but its evident that my memory is favouring the hot dog experience rather than the final score. One outcome is for certain, though; a hot dog at the ballpark is a delicious tradition.
Follow me on Twitter: @bowserings
The Nooner is a Vancouver tradition; a promotion of the Canadians baseball club, as an effort to attract crowds to the sparsely attended early afternoon games. Until 1999, the city was home to triple-A baseball, a farm club, just a step below the major league. After that season, however, the team moved to Sacramento and became the River Cats. Not wanting to leave the bleachers of Nat Bailey Stadium empty, a single-A short-season club was acquired. "The Nat" is jewel of a ballpark; harkening to an era when a sleepy community would come alive on game days. Behind the grandstand sits a quiet neighbourhood in Central Vancouver, beyond the outfield fence rests Queen Elizabeth Park.
While I was not fortunate to see the former Canadians play, I can imagine that the backward leap in skill from AAA to short-season A must have had an impact at the box office. Perhaps this is why The Nooner was introduced... at any rate, it is an inexpensive excuse to get Vancouverites out to the ballpark. This particular day, my friend Lindsay and I took advantage of the promo and basked in the warm weather.
Regardless of the sporting event, I'm getting a hot dog 9 out of 10 times. When it comes to baseball, it's not a question of if, it's a question of when. As I passed under the "Welcome to Nat Bailey Stadium" sign, the aroma of popcorn hit my nostrils. Popcorn acts as a secondary olfactory indicator to me- wherever there is popped corn, there is heated dogs.
Linds and I took our "assigned seats" and I went on a beer run. The lines can get fairly long, as there aren't many snack stands. However, if you are looking to acquire quick beer at the Nat, here's how: on the 3rd base side, almost to the end of the concourse, is where the bleacher beer vendors refill their trays. You can catch one of them coming out the door.
Around the 3rd inning, it was hot dog time. I picked up the footlong, which came in a lightly sesame'd bun, and headed to the condiments station. There is something about using a pump to accessorize your meat, instead of a squeeze bottle. Moving the dog horizontally and pumping the proper amount of sauce requires some finesse, for you never know what may happen; you could misjudge the pressure and need to repump, screwing up your distribution. You could hit an air pocket and end up with with an explosion of condiment all over your dog, hand, and face (it's happened to me). Truly, one hand's vertical motion must align with the other's horizontal; the hallmark of a perfect hot dog condiment pump.
I wish I could say the home team was victorious, but its evident that my memory is favouring the hot dog experience rather than the final score. One outcome is for certain, though; a hot dog at the ballpark is a delicious tradition.
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| At Nat Bailey Stadium, watching the Vancouver Canadians with a footlong in one hand, and an oversized novelty finger on the other. |
Follow me on Twitter: @bowserings
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