RFK Stadium was a big state of the art stadium and baseball heaven for me when my parents would take me to see the Washington Senators play in the late 1960's and early 1970's. We used to get there early to see Frank Howard launch moonshots in the upper deck during batting practice. I remember seeing Boog Powell, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Mickey Mantle all play there.
Yesterday Washington Nationals played their final baseball game at RFK Stadium, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3. Chad Cordero struck out Jayson Werth to end the 1,046th baseall game at RFK.
I was excited when baseball returned to Washington DC and RFK Stadium but to be honest, I didn't get to as many games as I thought I would once it was announced that the Montreal Expos would be relocating here for the 2005 season. Too many things happened, the most significant was Weena's pregnancy and the birth of Benjamin. With all the games on cable TV, it was a lot easier to stay home than make the trip to RFK.
For the record, I went to three Nationals games in 2005, none in 2006 and two games in 2007. I really don't even attend D.C. United soccer matches at RFK anymore either, opting to stay home with Weena and Benjamin and rooting from home thanks to the Direct Kick package of MLS soccer we subscribe to.
This stadium has served the city well but it is an old structure and pretty soon the time will come when it is torn down. The Nationals move into their new stadium for the start of the 2008 season and I do hope D.C. United gets their own place to play soon as well. Right now they will be RFK's only tenant. When RFK does meet the wrecking ball, that will be a pretty sad day for a lot of DC area sports fans.
1 comment:
It seems like yesterday that RFK was brand new! Enjoyed your perspective on it! Mom
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