My Top Pittsburgh Pirates Moments from the 2008 season

4. I Will Do Anything To Get On TV/Jumbotron: Whether it was being the section of the game, or being a complete idiot, I seemed to get on jumbotron quite a bit to get on TV or jumbotron. I played the National Anthem on my clarinet at the Pirates game with the rest of the band and did make it on jumbotron (check my Facebook Profile for proof). I did this despite going to the game the night before and yet again screaming for death and losing my voice.

 During the game, I warned my bandmates that I will scream and sure enough when Freddy Sanchez got a hit, I screamed at the top of my lungs for him to go to third and then screamed for him to slide. A couple of my band mates looked at me as if they had seen a UFO. We all sat in the upper deck that day, and my friend later told me that he was watching the game, and that my scream was so loud, that he could actually hear it. How about that?

If you thought that was bad, then you are sorely mistaken. My same friend and I went to a separate game and I did Karaoke for the first time (if you want to see it, go on youtube and search Pirate Game Karaoke and I am the first result). It was an ok performance and I can't believe I did it and as you read my friend recorded it (I sang Don't Stop Believing by Journey).

If that wasn't bad enough I ended up dancing, and I can tell you honestly, that I am horrible and spastic dancer. Yet, common sense did not stop me from being a moron. My moves made no sense at all, and when my friend put them up on Youtube he edited them to make them look even stupider.

Caption: Me doing Karaoke (this could help you if you are looking for it on Youtube)

However, I was not done. After dancing during several inning breaks, I somehow did get on jumbotron and I proceeded to do the Soulja Boy Dance (and let me tell you I hit it spot on) and then did a couple other things (unfortunately my friend did not record it, I would have loved to see how it came out).

5. Sights and Sounds From The Pirates: PNC Park was full of great moments during thr 2008 season. One great moment was at the Pirates Q&A session at PirateFest. Nyjer Morgan was battling Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy for the centerfield job and a fan asked Nyjer to describe himself. He first started out talking about being from Walla Walla and his love for hockey.

That was when the magic occurred and he talked about his Caddy SGX: "She drives real smooth, so I called her Charlene." This magic was nearly topped by a fan by the name of Action. Action was sitting right in front of me during Pirates Deal or No Deal at PirateFest and freaked out over a Pirates t-shirt ("Ooo. Pirates....t-shirt").

 He made me laugh even harder when he got on Pirates Trivia and took the box and won an autographed Matt Capps jersey. 

If I had one vendor that I could buy from it would be the Lemonade Man. The Lemonade Man also known as Ken, is this skinny senior citizen who sells lemonade at all of the Pirate games. Ken has a constant routine that he has not changed for years that always works.

He screams (well sort of) Lemonade repeatedly and then if someone wants one, he says, "$4 for 1," and after he gives you the lemonade, he tells you to, "take it easy." Every time the Lemonade Man is at PNC Park he is definitely one of the most recognizable faces in the Park.

 Ken the Lemonade Man

Another recognizable sight has to be the grounds crew. When there is a rain delay, the crew makes a huge mistake wearing these ugly looking yellow boots. I know you want to wear home team colors, but yellow? Come on, it looks like what a first grader wears on a rainy day. Next season, please pick another color (except pink).

6. The End Of a Career: When I got Matt Morris' autograph at PirateFest, I told him one thing, "watch out for that first inning," and he said "hey, that's right, I will." He then proceeded to pitch horribly and give up all kinds first inning runs and be taken out early further proving the fact that hitters hit more than .300 against Matt Morris in the first inning.

I actually got to see Matt Morris' last start as a Major Leaguer and oh was it ever bad. He gave up three runs in the first inning and only pitched 1 2/3 innings in the game. He actually was at right around 80 pitches when he was taken out. When he was released by the Pirates the next day, he retired and was owed $11 million. Way to go Mr. Littlefield.

 

Matt Morris

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