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COLUMN: Nothing blue about Memphis Baseball
BY Sarah Fonville, Special to the Allen American
Editor’s Note: Sarah Fonville is an 11-year-old Allen resident that is entering sixth grade at Norton Elementary School in the fall. Fonville, whose father Neil is a contributing photographer for the Allen American, recently went on a family trip visiting minor league ballparks. This is the first in a two-part series on her experiences.
The smell of barbecue in the air.
The people walking in the streets.
Welcome to downtown Memphis, where the baseball stadium is in the middle of all the action.
Memphis is home to the Redbirds, a triple-A affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals. The mascot is a loco cardinal named Rocky, which flew into the stadium on a four-wheeler. Seeing as he sometimes only used two wheels, bird mascots probably should not be allowed to drive. Sounds like Deuce and Daisy in Frisco, doesn’t it?
AutoZone Park in Memphis is bigger than our ballpark in Frisco, but felt smaller because the walls were higher and it was in the middle of downtown. Built in 2000, it seats 14,200 and was a more modern ballpark than I anticipated. The courtyard is always open on game days, but you can’t get into the seating areas.
When you first walk in, you see a replica of the field. It has bronze statues of a pitcher, batter and catcher all in their respective positions.
There was plenty of activity even before the game began. Kids of all ages were running the bases and a live band was playing on the day we were there. Maybe Frisco should have one playing every so often. My mom Mary said the women’s restroom in Frisco is better than Memphis because their restrooms did not have air conditioning.
The food here is good.
In fact, they have many more options than Roughriders Stadium in Frisco. One vendor had a two mini hotdog plate with chips and a drink for the kids, like my brother James and I, that cost $5. My dad Neil and my mom said the barbecue nachos were the best ballpark food ever. That plate had chips, cheese and a large mound of chopped barbecue pork with barbecue sauce. They had lots of ice cream treats to choose from, including ice cream cones and root beer floats, which were huge. They came in vanilla, chocolate or a mix.
Yummy!
Hey Roughriders, hope you are reading; more ice cream treats please.
Like the Roughriders, the Redbirds had activities between innings. They had one of particular interest called Build-a-burger. Two teams with two kids would line up at different sides of the field. Each of the kids was dressed as hamburger bun. One kid would lie on his back and the other would put the fixings on the bun. They had a giant meat patty, lettuce, tomato and cheese to place on the bun. The kid building the burger would jump on top of the fixings to finish the race, with the winner capturing a prize.
There were also free giveaways for the fans. In Frisco they throw T-shirts, but in Memphis they throw hot dogs.
The postgame fireworks were cool, but very loud.
They shot them off from the field, so it took 20 minutes of prep. The people looked like little ants running around the field putting tarp on it. I enjoy the fireworks in Frisco better because we get started five minutes after the game ends and they are not so loud.
The cheering fans.
The rushing crowds.
The honking cars.
Goodbye and goodnight to Memphis and AutoZone Park.
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