Sal Goes to an Akron Rubber Ducks Game

Last summer a few of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas played Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the 7th inning stretch at an Akron Rubber Ducks game.  (If you want to read all about that outing, click here.)

It was so much fun that we decided to do it again this summer, so I made the arrangements (I thought).  I talked to Christina (head of promotions) and we selected a date.  Then I talked to Jenna (ticket seller extraordinaire) about tickets.  The Fleas practiced Take Me Out to the Ball Game at every meeting starting at the beginning of May.  Many Fleas enlisted family members and friends to come along to watch the game and see us play.  Ticket money was collected by Bruce, our Flea money man, and he and I took a trip to Akron to pick up the tickets.  Unfortunately, there had been a power outage, which prevented ticket printing, so we went home empty-handed.  Happily, Jenna was able to print and mail the tickets to us later that day.  Tickets were distributed to the Fleas, and I thought everything was good.

We arrived at the ballpark, and I reported to the Guest Services window, just as I did last year, to let the Rubber Ducks folks know we were there, and to get instructions.  I was told to bring the group to Guest Services during the 6th inning.  This was what we had done last time, so it seemed that everything was going according to plan.  At the appropriate time, the Fleas made their way to Guest Services, meeting a bunch of Star Wars characters on the way.  (Did I mention it was Star Wars Night at the ballpark?)

You can hardly see Sal in this photo.  She is being held by the sand man.

When we arrived at Guest Services, excited (and a bit nervous) about playing, we found that there had been a mix-up.  Christina had scheduled us to play before the game.  Another person -- a young man called Jason Rummell (who had appeared on a TV show called The Voice) -- was scheduled to sing during the 7th inning stretch!

I am sure the look on my face was something to see when this bomb was dropped.  It seemed obvious to me that -- given a choice between a ukulele band and a guy who had appeared on TV -- the TV guy would be singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game with the crowd.  I gazed at the Fleas standing there, and felt absolutely horrible.  I thought about how we had all practiced, and got a bunch of people to come see us play, and talked about it to everyone we knew, and been looking forward to it for so long, etc.  and this was how it was going to end!?  It was a terrible moment.  I didn't know how the glitch had occurred, but I felt I had let everyone down.

Then it was suggested that perhaps we could accompany Jason Rummell as he sang.  Christina said she would go talk with him, and off she went.  While she was gone, we stood around wondering what had gone wrong.  Then we played a couple of tunes that some of the group had memorized, and practiced Take Me Out to the Ball Game in a skinny hallway off the concourse (just in case we were going to be performing after all).  Eventually we saw Christina conferring with Jason Rummell.  They were talking in a nearby space, and after a while we were asked to come and play for Jason.  In the end, it was agreed that we would play and he would sing.

Off we rushed to the place where we would wait for the 6th inning to be over. Last year we had performed on the concourse, but this year we were going to be standing on top of the dugout.  Gulp.  As a person who is afraid of heights, this put a bit of terror into my heart.  As we waited for the 6th inning to be over, some folks had their pictures taken with Jason Rummell, and I debated with myself about whether or not to ask him to pose for a shot with Sal.  There was lots of hubbub, and I hesitated.  But time waits for no uke, they say, and soon the chance to get a Sal photo was lost.  The inning was drawing to a close!

Here we are with Jason Rummell - right before going out to play on top of the dugout.  Not a good place for people afraid of heights!

When the 6th inning ended, we went down the aisle to the dugout, climbed on top, and played while Jason sang.  It was fun, and afterwards we happily went back to our seats and asked our friends how we had sounded.  They told us they couldn't hear us at all.  Jason had the only mike, so the crowd heard only him.  Argh!

After we played last year, enthusiastic Rubber Ducks staffers congratulated us and encouraged us to come back again, but this year there were crickets.  I don't know what sort of problems the mix-up caused, but I got the idea that perhaps we were Fleas-non-grata.  I ran into Christina and Jenna later, and they were good sports about posing with Sal, but neither one expressed an interest in having us back. 

Jenna, ticket provider extraordinaire, and Christina, who ironed out the confusion and got it done!

Looking on the bright side, most of the experience was fun.  It was a beautiful evening.  We performed for a sell-out crowd of 6000+.  (Of course nobody heard us, but oh well...)  We had beer and saw fireworks.  We got to hang out with our Flea buddies.  Overall, a pretty good night.

Sal is Taken Out to the Ball Game, Meets Rubber Ducks and Squirrels, and Celebrates Prince George's Birthday!

Last Tuesday night was really something!  For several weeks, a small band of dedicated Cleveland Jumping Fleas had been preparing to play Take Me Out to the Ball Game at an Akron Rubber Ducks game.  Each of us committed to memorizing the song.  We practiced together at each of our regular Flea playalongs.  I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I played Take Me Out to the Ball Game hundreds of times in an attempt to embed it in my brain.  I figured that even if I knew it pretty well, I might blank out in front of an audience of thousands, so I wanted playing the song to be almost automatic. 

The Fleas and their friends and family members arrived at Canal Park -- home of the Akron Rubber Ducks -- and found that the evening was being billed as a celebration of Prince George's 1st birthday.  Since I am an admirer of cute little Prince George, I enjoyed the Brit-centric silliness.

There were paper crowns on the heads of many of the Canal Park staff -- and a few staffers were arrayed in more elaborate costumes.  The first one we saw was this Beefeater.  Unlike the real guards in England, this young man was permitted to smile, talk, and pose for photos.

It was waaaaay too hot to stand in the boiling sun in this garb, but this guy did it with British can-do spirit -- even if he didn't keep a stiff upper lip!

Some of the Fleas were enjoying stadium fare - hot dogs, popcorn, etc., but I was too nervous to eat.   I did, however, partake of a cup of fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Love it!

Who could resist fresh squeezed lemonade?  Not me!  Thanks, guys, for the refreshing beverage!

While arranging our appearance at the game with Christina, the Rubber Ducks' Director of Promotions, I had been instructed to go to Guest Services when arriving at the park.  With a couple of trusty companions I did so, and was happy to see Emily (read this post if you want to know who Emily is), who said to come back a little later for more direction.  When we returned, these two gentlemen were at the desk.  They were friendly and helpful, and told us to bring the whole group to Guest Services closer to the 7th inning stretch and we would be led to the performance space.

These very helpful guys at the Guest Services desk were not thrown by the arrival of a gang of Hawaiian-shirt-wearing ukulele players.  They handled the situation with aplomb.

Meanwhile, on the field of play, the Rubber Ducks were battling the Richmond Flying Squirrels.  Since the Ducks were in second place in their division, and the Squirrels were in first place, I figured the game would be a close one, but alas for the Rubber Ducks, that was not the case.  Nobody scored for a long time, and then the Squirrels got three runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth inning.  The Ducks got nuttin'.  (unavoidable squirrel pun) 

Finally the time for us to play our song was drawing near, so the Fleas proceeded to Guest Services and stood around for a while waiting to be directed.  (Of course we showed up too early because we didn't want to be too late!)  As we waited, I came to an obvious conclusion:  Christina is a busy and energetic lady!  She was going hither and thither all evening conducting contests, leading the crowd as they danced to YMCA, etc.  I would have been dragging big-time after a couple of innings, but she seemed to have boundless enthusiasm.  Wow.

Eventually we were led to our performance space and had a chance to practice a couple of times.  Then we were on!  I'm not sure how to describe the experience of playing in front of over 4000 people, while simultaneously seeing oneself on a giant scoreboard and hearing all the people singing along.  Let's just say it was a bit out of this world.  In just a minute it was over and we congratulated ourselves on a song well played.  Celebration!  Relief!

The Fleas post-performance, with Christina of the Rubber Ducks (holding Sal).  Thanks to her for making it possible for us to play at Canal Park!

Oops!  One of our group members missed getting into the previous picture! The other shot is more flattering of most of us, but the post wouldn't be complete without a picture including Emily Ann.

To record this event for posterity, my wonderful sister came to the game to videotape us on the big scoreboard.  Her husband, Dave, very graciously edited the video and uploaded it to YouTube.  Check out this fun video!

And here is a cool cellphone video of our performance.

Final Scores:
Squirrels - 8
Rubber Ducks - 2
Fleas - 1,000  ;)

It's crazy when I realize how many hours of planning and preparation went into a one-minute performance, but it was well worth it.  What a good time!  Hope we can do it again next year!

BLOGPALOOZA: PART SEVEN! Sal and Sophia Go Into Advertising!

Wow!  Almost finished with BLOGPALOOZA!

This will be the cutest post in the series!  :)

Over the July 4th weekend I visited the lovely Miss Sophia.  (I visited with her parents, too, but I'm sure everybody can understand why the baby was the biggest draw!)  Readers of the most recent Travels with Sal post already know that I recently purchased an Akron Rubber Ducks onesie.  The plan was to take a picture of Sophia in this outfit to promote the appearance of the Cleveland Jumping Fleas at the Akron Rubber Ducks game on Tuesday, July 22nd.  We will be playing Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch.  Sal will be at the game, too, so she posed with Sophia for these super-cute photos. 

I put Sophia and Sal on the quilt and took lots of pictures.  Of course there was a bunch of grandmotherly silliness going on behind the camera to get Sophia smiling and interacting with Sal. 

Who could resist the combination of the world's cutest baby and Cleveland's cutest uke?

BLOGPALOOZA: PART SIX! Sal Gets Tickets for the Akron Rubber Ducks Game

An exciting event will soon be upon us!  A bunch of Cleveland Jumping Fleas will be entertaining literally thousands of people as we play and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at an Akron Rubber Ducks game.

Backstory time!  Last year I went to a baseball game at Canal Park -- the home of the Akron Aeros -- who are now called the Rubber Ducks.  (Check out this post if you'd like to read about that game.)  During the seventh inning stretch a family was projected on the giant scoreboard as they sang Take Me Out the Ball Game.   Of course I immediately decided that this would be a great thing for the Fleas to do.

When spring rolled around again, the idea was proposed and people seemed to like it.  Extensive intra-Flea-mailing and contacting of the Rubber Ducks staff ensued.  We began practicing and memorizing the song. 

After collecting money from our fellow Fleas, Sal and I drove to Akron to pay for and bring the tickets home to distribute among the performers and their families and friends.  As we arrived at the ball park, a game was about to start.  It was a colorful sight, as the street was full of buses loaded with kids from daycamps, etc.  Each group was wearing bright matching shirts.  Quite a festive atmosphere!

I had spent lots of phone time (and played much phone tag) with two very nice ladies from the Rubber Ducks:  Christina, Director of Promotions, who arranged for us to play, and Jenna, ticket lady extraordinaire, who got us our group tickets.  Both were great to work with.

My plan had been to buy a Rubber Ducks cap at the Team Shop when I went to get the tickets, but, because a game was about to start, the shop was closed.  I am grateful to Jenna for getting me in so I could buy my hat.  I also purchased an Akron Rubber Ducks onesie for Sophia.  This was an item a grandma couldn't resist.  See the next Travels with Sal post for a photo of the little sweetie wearing it!

Jenna with Sal, Emily masterfully juggling multiple phone calls, and another helpful Ducks staffer.