Following the O's from Philly

What a game to have traveled to Philadelphia to see. Saturday night's win against the Phillies made for an exciting night, and it was nice to find that I didn't have to enjoy it alone. O's fans came out in respectable numbers to support the Birds at Citizens Bank Park this weekend, and the evidence was visible throughout the City of Brotherly Love during the day before the game and all around the ballpark by nightfall. I saw more than a few "Markakis" shirts, received smiles and waves from fans in orange, laughed at the strength of the "O!" during the national anthem, and even saw a group of fans from my own York, Pa. sporting O-R-I-O-L-E-S-! (spelled out on the front and back) T-shirts in blazing Oriole orange.
I think a few of you even caught my tweets from left field, and thanks to those who followed and responded throughout the game. It was great to know you were following the O's right along with me. One O's fan asked me via Twitter what I thought of the game and of the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park, and I gave this as my brief, 140-character tweet in response:

Great game, great ballpark-I'd been there once before in absolute top row! Better seats this time but I'm partial to the Yard!

The last time I caught an O's-Phils matchup, I was literally in the last row of seats in the stadium. I'm not sure how we ended up with those seats, but boy was it breezy up there. I'm not typically afraid of heights, but that was a whole new experience watching a ballgame from that kind of bird's nest (no pun intended) with the wind coming through the metal mesh fence at our backs. We had better seats for this game, and I have to say my favorite aspect of Citizens Bank Park is actually the music--it's exciting, upbeat and really gets the crowd going--and the 52 x 35 foot neon mechanical Liberty Bell that rings after every Phillies HR is a fun, unique feature, but I'll always be partial to Camden Yards. I'm planning a possible trip to Fenway Park later this summer, and some of the other old ballparks will always be up there too, but in the end, I wouldn't argue a syllable with those who rank Oriole Park among the best in baseball... When do the Birds come home to the Yard? Against the Nats on the 26th...Go O's!