What it's like to go to a World Series game
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There was so much screaming at this moment. Photo: Tasha "Walk Off" Tsiaperas/Axios
It was past bedtime for a boy in the first row in right field. By the seventh-inning stretch of Game 1 of the World Series, when everyone sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," that tired boy was asleep, snuggled with a wooden toy bat.
The big picture: The Rangers offense had gone largely silent. They trailed by two runs, and the game was dragging past the three-hour mark.
Why it matters: We were there! In the front row!
What happened: Globe Life Field was packed, with more than 42,000 fans cheering through pre-game festivities and an early Rangers lead.
- Fans waved red rally towels in the air and chanted, "Let's go, Rangers!" throughout the first innings of the game.
Details: Unlike regular season games, when people continue to file in through the first couple innings, the ballpark was nearly full an hour before the first pitch.
The intrigue: The World Series is a bucket list item for many people, including one man we saw wearing a hot dog suit. After the game ended, he persuaded a security officer to scoop some ballpark dirt into his souvenir cup.
- Hot dog man and his dad — who was also dressed as a hot dog — are collecting dirt from the ballparks they visit. Friday's game was their best yet.
Between the lines: Baseball seasons are long. Fans can't stay locked in to every moment in 162 games.
- But in the playoffs — and especially at the World Series — fans stand longer, cheer louder, clap harder.
The bottom line: The sound of the crowd after Corey Seager's game-tying ninth-inning home run was maybe the loudest noise we've ever heard.
- The crowd stayed loud and on their feet for most of the extra innings.
- And then, García was up. He hit a walk-off homer into the right-field stands. The fireworks went off overhead. The crowd screamed. The team stormed the field to celebrate. It was one of the most exciting World Series moments ever.
In the end: The little boy slept through it all.