DRAGONS

Last week, I went to a Dayton Dragons class A minor league baseball game at Fifth Third Field. It was my first experience at a minor league game and it was a blast. I sat in the first row right behind home plate.

The Dayton Dragons games are the hardest ticket around. The Dragons sold out their entire season before the season started. They are the only minor league team to ever do that. Their stadium is a beautiful place with a first class scoreboard including large screen TV. The game attendance was listed as 8, 281.


The whole thing is an event. Something happens every half inning. Fans are brought onto the field every inning for some kind of little game or contest. For example, three elderly fans went out after one inning and were asked their favorite pick-up lines. Then everyone voted by cheering for their favorite. The winner, an 80-year old lady, won a Dragons t-shirt. She beat out a 70-year old guy who offered "We better call the fire department, honey, 'cause you're 'smokin'"


They have two mascots that roam the stands and sometimes perform between innings. Once during the game, "Roofman" appeared. Roofman is a guy dressed like Spiderman who runs around on the roof of the stadium, in and out of sight, and throws soft rubber balls down to the fans. Everyone went crazy.


Parking was $5 and a beer was $5 - not too bad by major league standards. It was an all-together pleasant experience.