A Night to Remember

This past Friday night was a dream come true for me.  As you all know, I am a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan but I had never been to a game at Turner Field.  I had checked into going many times but it just never seemed to work out.  So when I found out in January that the Braves were going to be retiring Chipper Jones's #10 (check out my ode to him from September http://bit.ly/TCxILE) and he was going to be inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame on June 28, I knew I had to make every effort to attend and as luck would have it, the timing worked perfectly into our vacation schedule.  And what made it even more special was that I was going to get the share the experience with my wife, my three kids, my father, both of my brothers, three nephews, and a niece. 

During the day on Friday, I got to walk around Turner Field and my wife, Kristy, took several nice pictures of the stadium and the monuments in the plaza outside the stadium.  I was able to walk around and spend time enjoying the stadium instead of being rushed like it usually is when we go to a ballpark.  Of the four Major League parks I have now been to, (the others being Great American in Cincy, PNC in Pittsburgh, and Comerica in Detroit) Turner Field ranks as the second nicest behind PNC. 

The icing on the cake for the day, however, was the most unexpected surprise I ever could have imagined.  I knew I was going to get to see the jersey of my second favorite Braves player of all time get retired but I had no idea that I was going to get to meet my childhood hero and get his autograph.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out I was going to have the opportunity to meet Dale Murphy (see why he belongs in the HOF http://bit.ly/USlOLA) and get him to sign a baseball.  I felt like I was eight years old again.  We made a mad dash to the autograph session where Murphy was signing as soon as the gates opened so we could get our place in line.  Even though I am almost thirty-five, I must admit that I got a little star-struck when I shook Murphy's hand and got my ball signed by him.  My son, Brayden, was so excited by meeting Dale Murphy that he decided to put his signed ball in the case we had just bought him for his game ball the he received a few weeks earlier during his youth baseball season. 

The euphoria of meeting my childhood baseball hero had not worn off by the time we made it to our seats to watch the jersey retirement ceremony.  As I sat there watching the presentation on the field and the unveiling of the #10 on the ring around the stadium, I couldn't believe how great the day had turned out to be.  The first pitch had not even been thrown and I had already had the greatest sports spectating moments of my life.  What could have been better?  Oh yeah, the Braves actually winning the game, which they did 3-0.  Back in January when we ordered the tickets and you would have asked me what the perfect night for June 28 would look like, the story I would have told you would not have even come close to the perfection of the reality of that night.  I guess sometimes reality is more unreal than a lifelong dream.