Looking back (2026): This one was special. Amy grew up a Dodgers fan, so this was a true homecoming for her, a chance to go back and be a fan for a day, with her Giants-fan husband gritting his teeth beside her. And I'll say this now with eight more years of perspective: Dodger Stadium is a production like no other. I've been to Yankees games, I've been to Red Sox games, but the Dodgers do it at another level. The music, the energy, everything just ON POINT. It was an evening game, a two-hour drive each way for us, and worth every mile. Don't tell my Padres friends, but I'd happily go back.
Visiting Dodgers Stadium was an incredible homecoming for Amy. She grew up a Dodgers fan and has great memories of family baseball outings. As for me, I'm a Giants fan. Since my son and wife a big LA Dodgers fans, I sucked it up and participated in the pilgrimage to the enemies lair. All kidding aside, we had an amazing time, the stadium is iconic and wonderful, the fans were great and it was simply, a blast.
Gage & Becoming A Dodgers Fan
I didn't deal with the news well. I worked through the typical four phases of grief. Shock, Anger, More Shock and then, finally, Acceptance. It's just recently that I have accepted that my son, the "fruit of my loins" has drifted to the dark side. But, the good news is he loves a sport I love. Now he has something that he can share with his mom, a fellow Dodgers fan and we will likely have some good family rivalries down the road. I cannot believe I'm going to write this but I'm starting to like the Dodgers a little bit too. All except Puig, that dude is a horrible poor sport.
Looking back (2026): Time for the update on this saga. The Dodgers thing didn't stick. Gage was ALL IN for about two years, and honestly, I get it. Beautiful colors, gorgeous stadium, storied franchise. But eventually he came around like the rest of us, and the whole family became Padres fans, as one does living in San Diego. I'll admit it now: watching my own son root for my Giants' biggest rival was painful. I didn't give him too hard a time about it, but it irritated me about as much as a kid can irritate a father. Underneath it all, though? I was just stoked he loved the sport. Still am.
Claire on the JumboTron
Looking back (2026): This section deserves the story. The stadium camera crew rolls around during the game looking for fans to put on the big screen, and they found Claire sitting next to Amy, looking absolutely adorable in her little Dodgers hat. The funny part was the wait. The crew basically parked on her and stood there for what felt like minutes before they finally cut to her on the JumboTron. She thought it was the coolest thing ever, and we got a huge kick out of it. She was so young she doesn't remember it now, but that's exactly why this blog exists. Hopefully this gives her something to remember it by.
Snacking Our Way Through The Day
Looking back (2026): You cannot go to Dodger Stadium and not have a Dodger Dog (it's the law), so we did our duty, maybe twice. Somehow we'd ended up with seats on the club level, which meant access to this huge concourse walk-through full of Dodgers sports memorabilia. Really neat stadium. We snacked our way through the whole thing, exactly as the section title promises.
Dodgers Win!
In true Gary Shapiro form, we left in the 7th inning to beat the rush. The kiddo's were fading fast and we had a long drive ahead of us. On the way out of the gates we heard the roar from the crowd as Matt Kemp hit the go ahead home run. Wouldn't have it any other way. 🙂
Looking back (2026): For the uninitiated, Gary Shapiro is Amy's dad. A joker, full of life, an LA fan through and through, and notorious for being the FIRST one out of the parking lot. I never got to witness the legend firsthand, but Amy grew up with it and the stories are plentiful. So leaving in the 7th to beat the rush wasn't laziness. It was us honoring a family tradition. Gary would have been proud.