Going to a Brooklyn Cyclones game is a dream finally realized after wanting to go since I moved here. Prepare for crowds, and up close action. There doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the stadium, though the $9 bleachers without backs might be a bit uncomfortable. Unlike a Yankees game, where you have to spend an arm and a leg to even remotely make out the players faces, we could almost count the blades of grass. With the old parachute ride in front of us, the actual Cyclone and Coney Island in the distance, and seagulls overhead, it was a beautiful way to devote a Sunday night to.
The food is, of course, a major part of the experience for me and we all started after a day of near fasting, with a foot long Nathan's and a beer. Later I couldn't resist the pastel allure of cotton candy (see this week's dessert pick) and Jim even went so far as to have a burger and beans as a second course.
Mike let us share his big soft pretzel which he bought as consolation for not finding an egg cream. We misunderstood our neighbor who said there was a smoothie and egg roll stand, not egg cream. But seriously smoothies and egg rolls? They just don't go together in my mind and a Brooklyn based team might just want to look into offering the local specialty of egg creams.
The game itself was fairly uneventful. We won. The players were cute, with smaller fannies than major leaguers.
The real kicker of the night was in the oddities and special events like the vintage car show, Jewish heritage night complete with an on field dance and jerseys in Hebrew, contests that pitched audience members against one another and the Nathan's hot dog race, where three men in hot dog costumes resembling vaginas stage a mock race on the field. Ketchup won because relish and mustard couldn't keep their hands off one another and began to dance. Yeah, it was weird. (and I apologize for there being no photos, but my camera battery died early on)
None of these compare to the entertainment of Sandy the Seagull and Peewee?- the mascots, and particularly the mind blowing King Henry and loud mouth Jay who really ran the entertainment side of things by yelling. We found out King Henry runs an entertainment business (creepy) and even has his own show. Jay, well he really just yells throughout the game, maybe does a few moves he picked up at a Staten Island night club, and occasionally throws stuff to the screaming eager audience – mostly tee shirts, but once (I swear) packaged Applebees quesadillas (which he described in a horse shriek as chickeniny) Jim is completely obsessed with the man.
But what do you think?