...and this one belongs to the Reds!

Over the years, my relationship with baseball has been surprisingly solid.

Growing up, I was surrounded completely by UVA football and never really paid much attention to baseball. Despite the fact that he's from New York City, my dad was never really a baseball fan. Still, he would take us to Cinergy Field, and later Great American Ballpark, for games quite often. Consequently, I have some wonderful memories with him at games and have developed a soft-spot for the hometown team.

Although football is clearly my true sports love (and hockey has recently become my gigolo), I have always been a Reds fan and have never gone a summer without attending at least one of their games. ...and before you make fun of me, I looked it up - gigolo is the male version of a 'mistress.'

This summer, it has been particularly easy to be a Reds fan. They are on fire and this is unusual for the end of August. They are currently leading the NL Central with a four-game lead over St. Louis. Play-offs, here we come!

Tonight, I convinced my wonderful dad to take me to my 4th game of the season. Thanks to the promise of dinner, it didn't take too much arm-twisting. He scalped one ticket and got the other from a family friend. He made reservations for the Riverfront Club where we stayed until the 6th inning.

If you ever get the chance, I suggest you have dinner in the Riverfront Club. The view is unbeatable. You sit in the air conditioning, in front of an enormous window, eat, and watch the game. The view of the field and the Ohio River is beautiful. That is, of course, if there is such a thing as a beautiful view of that sketchy water.

He had salmon, soup, and salad. I took the more traditional baseball route and went with sliders and chips. The food was great and the view was better.

After we left dinner, we walked around the stadium for a bit before settling on some nosebleeds. The Reds man-handled the Cubs, beating them 7-1. Right Fielder Jay Bruce hit THREE homeruns and I got to stare at Votto. Always a plus.

After the game, we watched the awesome fireworks display. It was synchronized to music and the songs were great, too. They played some DMB, "Burning Down the House" by The Talking Heads, "Tom Sawyer" by Rush, and "Higher Ground" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not bad.

Maybe some day I'll stop living this easy dream life and be a real person. Maybe. ;)

The Bengals play the Bills tomorrow. Who-dey?!