10 Things to do in a Red Sox Rain Delay - Joanne C.

I received Red Sox tickets for Wednesday night’s Minnesota Twins game as a gift. Keeping in mind the two days of howling rain in Boston, I decided to share my list of 10 things to do in a rain delay at Fenway Park…

10. On the T: Wonder why they play games in April in New England – it’s always a crap shoot on weather, it’s cold and rainy… I suppose that if you end in October, you have to start in April, but it always makes me wonder why I have to break out the winter coat and fleece lined jeans to enjoy a ball game in person.

9. On the Street: Look at all the different ponchos – I swear, none of the ponchos I saw Wednesday night were the same. I was particularly fascinated by an ankle length one I saw on a woman on Yawkee Way.

8. In Kenmore Square: Double check the news provided by local teens – Two kids walked through Kenmore Square yelling the game has been called for rain – might as well go home; called home instead to hear that the game was going off as scheduled.

7. At Game On: Count the people who are leaving vs the people who are getting in – Takes about 15 minutes on a lousy game day (combine that with people who stayed from the first game of the double header). They let in 20 people (I know, fire code…), let in 10 and then close the line. We count as 25-30 people leave, and two sneak in and wait another five minutes before being let inside.

6. At the Bar: Order two beers each – This one is key, because it’s so crowded you may never get near the bar again. Two beers (at $5.50 each) will hold you long enough to see if the game is going off on schedule or if it is delayed or cancelled.

5. Watch the Bruins playoff game – What better way to forget about the pounding rainstorm than to be at Game On and watching the Bruins beating (literally at times) the Montreal Canadians.

4. Make friends with other patrons – Met a girl and her friend, a Twins fan who flew in from Minnesota just to go to the game. Tried not to hold the “Twins fan” thing against them, as they were otherwise nice people.

3. Discuss who will be taking your tickets for the next afternoon’s game while you’re at work – Our friends were on school vacation week with their kids, and the one with the Pats season tickets won out.

2. Game Begins, order one more beer – Gotta wait out that first inning or so after a rain delay; they’ll get you into the park and then pull another two-hour rain delay once the game has begun – in order to combat this and avoid spending $7 per beer, watch the first inning from where you are.

1. At the Game: Keep an eye on the clock – the MBTA does not care about rain delays or extra innings – the last train runs at 11:45, no matter what; giving you with the option of leaving early or jockeying with 20,000 other fans for a crushing ride out of Boston. We made it to the bottom of the 7th and got home in time to see the final score, wondering why they play games in April in New England.