Minor League Baseball = Major League Fun

So we capped off our day in Coney Island with a little Minor League Baseball action between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Batavia Muckdogs.

First of all, there's no better value for sports entertainment than taking in a Cyclones game. There's not a single bad seat in the stadium as it's all one level. Secondly, the $14 ticket is nothing compared to the prices we paid for the Yankees and Mets games that we went to this earlier this year. Next, you receive a free promo giveaway (Modells/Cyclones bag - albeit a crappy one) and a complementary Cyclones Program upon entering the stadium. Also, the variety of food options is great - ranging from burgers to Nathan's hot dogs to Italian sausages and even Asian dumplings. Lastly, the vibe of the park is unparalleled as you can see the ocean, the beach, and the Cyclone in the background.

But the star of the entire show is the small town feel of it all - NYC style, of course. Last night was Italian Heritage Night so they celebrated it in a number of ways including offering ravioli/garlic bread for $5. They also gathered adults/kids onto the playing field in an attempt to form a number of tarantellas - traditional Italian dances. If that's not all, there was even a tasty meatball judging contest taking place.

Then there was the music in the stadium - cheesy songs like Starship's "We Built This City", C&C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now" and yes, Haddaway's "What Is Love?". But everything from the local car dealership's ads ("We deliver/We deliver") to the Cyclones' interpretation of the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep til Brooklyn" (they created a parody called "Baseball in Brooklyn") contained a bit of unintentional comedy that was both amusing and yet somehow endearing. Throw in the local flavor of parkgoers - the Knights of Columbus guy who botched up his speech during an on-the-field ceremony and "Louie" who, when prompted to guess the prize amount of the NY Lottery, responded with: "I'd say between 30 and 40 clams" and you cannot make this stuff up.

Brooklyn Cyclones Baseball - it's a good time!