{"id":489,"date":"2013-03-20T05:35:49","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/?p=489"},"modified":"2013-03-19T22:01:34","modified_gmt":"2013-03-20T03:01:34","slug":"ive-got-a-fever-and-the-prescription-is-baseball-and-more-cowbell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/20\/ive-got-a-fever-and-the-prescription-is-baseball-and-more-cowbell\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve Got a Fever and the Prescription is Baseball, and More Cowbell"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a little under two weeks the 2013 Major League Baseball season will officially begin with the prime-time Easter Sunday showdown between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n

\"Minute<\/a>
Minute Maid Park will be the site of the first game of the 2013 Major League Baseball season.
Photo R Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ever since I bought my ticket to that game I have found myself with a little spring in my step knowing that soon the games will count for real.<\/p>\n

I guess it is not to say that Spring Training does not count but there is certainly a difference between the validity of a Spring Training record versus a regular season record.<\/p>\n

Another factor that has me ready for the start of the season is the historic aspect of being present for not only the first game of the season but also the first game for the Astros in the American League.<\/p>\n

So with all of the excitement one might even say I have a fever for baseball.<\/p>\n

The fever got me thinking about a classic Saturday Night Live<\/em> skit involving Christopher Walken. In the skit Walken plays a music producer who has a fever and the only cure is more cowbell.<\/p>\n

Throughout the skit Will Ferrell runs around like a man possessed banging his cowbell all over the sound stage to the dismay of his band mates.<\/p>\n

\"With<\/a>
With the baseball season approaching I am in the mood for more cowbell.
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you have never watched the skit I highly recommended you do so if for no other reason than to watch one of Jimmy Fallon’s many times that he broke character and laughed during a skit.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the skit, teams soon made sure that cowbells were available in the various gift shops for fans to make sure they get into the spirit.<\/p>\n

Of the ballparks that I have visited I have to say that Tropicana Filed, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, is the most cowbell frenzied one.<\/p>\n

While the Rays often rank near the bottom each year in terms of attendance one cannot deny that the fans who are there definitely make some noise and that noise is often fueled from cowbells.<\/p>\n

What can I say there is just something fun about thousands of one’s closet friends clanging on the cowbell in unison.<\/p>\n

\"Fred<\/a>
Fred Schneider of the rock band The B-52’s is definitely someone who enjoys more cowbell as demonstrated during a concert at Tropicana field.
Photo R. Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But like everything in life there is a time and a place for the cowbell.<\/p>\n

The most appropriate times to ring the cowbell are when a pitcher has two strikes on an opposing batter, the home team player reaches base or scores a run, and of course whenever one is prompted to do so by the stadium announcer or visual cues.<\/p>\n

<\/em>Of course another time for cowbell in the ballpark is when the B-52s are in concert there. That was the case during my first visit to Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a little under two weeks the 2013 Major League Baseball season will officially begin with the prime-time Easter Sunday showdown between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Ever since I bought my ticket to that game I have found myself with a little spring in my … Continue reading I’ve Got a Fever and the Prescription is Baseball, and More Cowbell<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[47,46],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ballparksbeachesandbeyond.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}