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| RedsFest 2010 Program Cover |
I grew up in Las Vegas. I remember listening to Dodger games and Vin Scully on a local radio station. It would have been 1972, when I was nine years old. At the time the Western Division of the National League had the Dodgers, Braves, Padres, Giants, Astros and the Cincinnati Reds. For some reason I remember liking the Reds; Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez. I think it may have been that at the time there was only two baseball games on TV a week, the NBC Saturday game of the week and a Monday night game. It seemed as though the Reds played in more of those games than any other. I listened to the Reds on the radio when they played the Dodgers (at that time 14 times a year). I also played the APBA baseball board game with my friends, and always used the Reds team cards.
Of course, the seventies was the Reds' decade. I remember Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson of the New York Mets fighting in the 1974 playoffs, the Carlton Fisk World Series game 6 home run, but the Reds clinching in game 7 in 1975 and the 1976 playoff and World Series sweeps.
in 1979 our family moved to Cincinnati, and although the Big Red Machine had been dismantled by then, my favorite Red, Johnny Bench, was still here.
Fast forward to today. Baseball is still my favorite sport (although I blog more about soccer) and the Reds are still my favorite team. This past summer I went to 10 games, including my first opening day, the game Steven Strasburg of the Nationals pitched, the brawl with the Cardinals, and the home playoff game against the Phillies. The rest I either listened to on the radio (Marty Brennaman and Jeff Brantley have to be the most entertaining radio pair since...Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall!) or watched on TV.
I don't think any other team holds an event like RedsFest. $17 admission included a voucher for a view level ticket for a game this summer, a Reds mug and a Reds string bag. There was an opportunity to get free autographs and photos with the players (and it seemed as though all the players were there). There was lots of memorabilia to peruse, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame displays to see, and entertainment for kids. Joey Votto walked right by my wife and me on the RedsFest floor (bigger than I thought) and I bought a Yankees Flex 4-pack of tickets (Yankees coming to Cincinnati this year). I even got my picture taken with George Foster!
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| A Blurry Picture of Me and George! |
I understand a record 21,000 people attended RedsFest this year. Optimism is obviously running high in anticipation of another National League Central Division Championship!
Nothing could be better for a Reds fan like me to get ready for the 2011 season!
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