Goodbye Rug Burns, Hello Grass Stains

I have to admit, as a Twins fan, I was never really anti-Dome. Sure, a slight pang of jealousy would surface while sitting in Kauffman Stadium or Coors Field, watching other baseball teams play outside in picturesque ballparks. But to me, the Metrodome has always been the Minnesota Twins.

In 2000, when talks of contraction were sweeping throughout the major leagues and the Twins' name was coming up in conversation regularly, the Dome was used against them. It was unattractive. It was low-rent. It was not a place for baseball. When the Twins survived the contraction issue and went on to dominate the American League Central, the Dome survived too. The little engine that could, of sorts. I couldn't help but cheer the Dome on!

When talks of Target Field began taking shape, I may have been in the minority of Twins fans. Amidst all the hope and excitement, I was a little sad. The Dome was where I had become a Twins fan each and every summer as a boy with my family. The Dome was home of Kirby Puckett, my childhood hero. The Dome was home of TWO World Series Champions! Sure there were Hefty Bags hanging in right field and sure the purple and gold of the Vikings clashed with the navy and red of the Twins, but the Metrodome was Twins Territory as I knew it.

Seeing Target Field on television, has been surreal. It feels like watching and cheering on an entirely different team. A team and a stadium that garners respect, not the opposite. I've been waiting to see it in person since Opening Day and on Wednesday, Kelli and I left Charly with Grandma and Grandpa Henrichs for her first ever overnight and made the three hour trek up north.

It was slightly eerie riding the train past the Metrodome and into the Warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. I had been there before and I was having trouble envisioning a ballpark in the midst of all the busyness. Stepping off the train, the seemingly endless wall of slate stone behind left field, did not look like much. However after walking along the outside of the stadium on our way to the front entrance, the surreal images I had become accustomed to on television, slowly started becoming reality. By the time we reached the front entrance, I was beginning to feel like a lifelong Cubs fan on their first visit to Wrigley.

Despite looking like it's own version of the Starship Enterprise, Target Field is rather impressive. The right field Plaza is bustling with vendors and personal Twins touches yet the entire area feels quaint and welcoming. Kelli and I browsed the Twins Majestic Clubhouse and looked at the bronze statues of Kirby, the Golden Glove, and Harmon Killebrew (we totally missed Rod Carew's statue!). We admired the numbered gates honoring past Twins like Tony O. - 6, Hrbek - 14, Carew - 29, and Kirby - 34 (didn't see Killebrew's - 3), then we bought a beer and chilled on one of the many benches in the Plaza. By 5:00, two hours before first pitch, the area was packed with people.

We filed into the stadium around 5:30. Our seats were on the first base side, 12 rows up in the lower section. Instead of finding them, we took a lap through the concourse. We found Hrbek's bar and made our way to the upper deck to check out the view from above. Seeing the skyline behind right field was truly awe-inspiring and it was the moment I began to forget about the Metrodome entirely.

40,814 people (the largest Target Field crowd to date) found their seats as Scott Baker tossed the first pitch. The Twins scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks to Danny Valencia and Nick Punto singles. Scotty Baker struck out a career-high 12 batters. The Rockies closed the gap by scoring a run in the top of the eighth off a Matt Guerrier wild pitch. Jose Mijares came in to strike out Todd Helton, pumping his fist and screaming as he came off the field and into the dugout. Twins' closer, Jon Rauch made short work of three Rockies batters to record his 17th save of the season. The Twins won 2-1, going to 11-4 overall when Kelli and I have been in attendance (since 2003)!

I surely will miss the Metrodome and the memories I have from it. But after singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame into the open, Minnesota air, watching the sun fall behind homeplate changing the sky from blue, to orange, to black, and admiring while victory fireworks fill the night sky behind the glorious video board in left-center field, I understood just what we Twins fans had been missing out on in the Dome. This is what summer is all about. This is how baseball is supposed to be played. I can't wait for our next visit!