LOS DOYERS!!!

The Dodgers are in the World Series for the first time in twenty-nine years and it's both very exciting and extremely stressful.  I can't say I'm an educated baseball fan, but as a native Angeleno, I was born a Dodgers fans and as such the team is part of my identity.  We often refer to baseball as "America's favorite past time," and it is in fact very nostalgic for me. I love going to Dodger games, because it reminds me of when my dad would take my brother and I to games and we'd chow down on Dodger dogs, which at seven or eight years old seemed massive.  It also reminds me of going with my Girl Scout troop, chowing down on Dodger dogs, and having so much fun but hardly even being aware of what was actually happening in the game. So, I have many a fond memory of baseball, of the Dodgers, and of Dodger Stadium.

​Despite realizing how gross Dodger dogs really are, and they're not really that massive--just extra long dogs--I still have to have one every time I go to a game.  I still only remember the basic rules of the game, but being in that stadium on the hill always feels like home.  I don't know if all baseball fans feel that way about their home stadium, but it's certainly a very special feeling.

One of my favorite memories at Dodger Stadium is a relatively more recent one.  Back in 2014 when the LA Kings were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the race for the Stanley Cup Finals, I was at a Dodger game with one of my best friends during one of the games.  I don't remember which game it was, it may have even been the game that got them into the Stanley Cup Finals, but either way, when Alec Martinez won that game for us, all of Dodger Stadium lit up and roared with excitement and for a brief moment I think we all forgot there was a baseball game going on.  The screens at Dodger Stadium also lit up with victory signs for the Kings.  It was one of the most incredible feelings I've felt at a sporting event, because it was like we were all united, like we were all family cheering and rooting for our team--just a bunch of Angelenos celebrating in pure elation.  The Dodgers may have even ended up losing that night, I honestly don't remember, but it didn't matter.

I don't know if other cities with multiple sports teams are like that, but that's what I love about my LA teams--there's a certain pride and unity that binds us all.  Our teams are very much a part of our identity.  When I see a blue LA baseball cap on someone's head, and I can just tell they too are an Angeleno, I smile, because I feel like in some ways we are family.  

I also once got to see a Paul McCartney concert at Dodger stadium, which was pretty awesome despite the fact that baseball stadiums are not designed to be good concert halls.

May our team end our twenty-nine year dry spell, but no matter what, I love you, my Dodgers.

BIG LOVE & HUGS 

Love,

​Justine