Everywhere we go...

The Wizards season tickets have turned out to be the best investment in our mental health since the whole downsizing thing started a year ago. A night out in the profanity-soaked Cauldron section, blowing off steam. A guaranteed seat to top-level football playing. (Uh...well maybe that will come after the team adjusts to their new manager.)
Last night was a great example. Cauldron ticket holders were invited to see a Royals game for the low-low price of $5 a ticket and bring a little of our spirit to America's Pastime.
Mike and I were all over this the minute it came out. School night? Who cares. You don't often get a chance to see a professional baseball game that cheap--never mind how the Royals have been playing lately.
It wasn't until later that I began to think it through. The Cauldron section at the Wizards games is, well, pretty active. It's 45 straight minutes on your feet, screaming, singing and spouting the aforementioned abuse at opposing players. Then a short half-time break to sit down, then up again for 45 more minutes, plus stoppage. It's loud and accompanied by snare and bass drums.
How would that energy translate to the mellower confines of a baseball stadium?
For one thing, a baseball game is so much longer than a football match. We'd all lose our voices if we kept if that level of energy up for several hours.
And then there's the matter of neighboring baseball fans, who would surely be annoyed by the constant screaming.
Would we use some of the standard songs? Well, let's see...
"He fell down like a.." No, that one doesn't work.
"Who ate all the pies?" Well, there are probably plenty of candidates for targets in the average baseball lineup, but again, the neighboring fans might object.
"A rope, a tree, we'll hang the--umpire?" No.
"If I had the wings of a sparrow..." uh-uh.
(for other chants, click here)
In the end, it all worked out. We stayed in our seats, cheered at select times and stuck to lighter fare. ("Let's go Roy-als" eg.) Other "normal" Royals fans were far enough away--either by accident or by design--that there was no drama.
As for abusing the Indians, we had to content ourselves with heckling Indians right fielder Jamey Carroll, because he was the only one ever close enough to hear.
And I guess it worked, because the Royals won and pitcher Zack Greinke beat a team record for strikeouts (which we had to miss, because of our daughter's bizarre insistence at getting home early enough to get enough sleep for school. Sigh.)
So maybe the Cauldron was a good luck charm. Guess they'll just have to invite us back.