Growing up, baseball season was celebrated in my household, unless the Padres lost. I most definitely would say sports are not my thing, but being my father’s daughter, I had no choice but to be a Padres fan.
Any time a game took place during my childhood, with no doubt, our television would be playing it, and I’m pretty sure one of my first articles of clothing was a baby-sized Padres jersey.
When I decided to attend Point Loma Nazarene University, my dad was overjoyed. His daughter was going to college only 20 minutes away from Petco Park. My dad has been a diehard Padres fan forever. Born and raised in San Diego, his family would frequently attend games, and he even worked at the stadium as a ticket salesman in high school.
Since moving to San Diego, my dad and I have attended quite a few games. Any time he comes to visit we have attempted to attend a game or at least watch it from a restaurant’s TV.
Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that when we go to a game, the Padres tend to lose. Maybe it’s bad luck or picking the wrong games to go to, but either way it sadly always happens.
The Padres have had an interesting season but the energy and comradery of the stadium remains. Placed in the electric atmosphere of Gaslamp, cornered by lively bars, music venues and convention centers, Petco Park has a unique feel.
After a seven-game winning streak, our hopes were high that this game would be different. Maybe the Padres would prevail against the bad luck my dad and I sadly seem to bring. On Friday, Sept. 22, the Padres beat the Cardinals 4-2 making their winning streak eight.
Entering the stadium on Sept. 23 immediately lifted our spirits. Hearing the mumbles and cheers of the crowd, seeing the wave of brown, gold and white jerseys throughout the stadium and smelling the popcorn brought a smile to our faces.
The Padres scored in the first inning, reigning in the fans. Nothing is better than celebrating a home run at a home game with fellow fans, except for celebrating a win. The sun began to set and with that, the game started to slow down. No runs were scored by either team up until the seventh inning.
The seventh inning hurt for Padres fans. The Cardinals scored two runs in the seventh, leaving my dad disappointed. It was at that moment he turned to me and said, “We can leave whenever you want.” That’s when you know the game is lost. I insisted on staying a little longer even though I knew there wasn’t much hope.
The rest of the game was exciting nonetheless, going into two extra innings due to the Padres scoring a homerun at the bottom of the ninth, making the score 2-2.
The last two innings seemed like a hard watch when the Cardinals scored three runs in the eleventh inning. But by that time my dad and I were driving home, still listening to the game over his car radio.
The Padres lost and we laughed about the bad luck we seem to bring to Petco Park everytime we go to see a game. If we’re there, they lose. Maybe we should stick to watching games at home.
Grace Gaines