'Postseason experience'

Sweat dripping down the back on a 90-degree day,

nearly another hour to go to enter the Padres Team

Store on 7th Ave. (Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

I had my "Padres postseason experience" yesterday afternoon (Oct. 3).

I stood in line for almost two hours, in the broiling sun, waiting to get in the Padres' team store at Petco Park.

All I bought when I got inside--finally--was a "Tatis" shirt, pretty cool, I must say (it was for my son-in-law), and a pin with "23" on it (Fernando Tatis Jr.'s uniform number).

I say "postseason experience" because, with the stadium closed to fans, the guy in front of me (a diehard, long-suffering Padres fan) and I agreed that this would be the closest thing we could get toward attending a game this year. COVID wins out.

I leaned in to the fence on the 10th Ave. side, snapping photos of Dave Winfield, the Padres' Hall of Fame, and workers munching on lunch at picnic tables inside.

Getting in line shortly before 1 p.m., I sweated out the first hour, with sweat running down my back on a 90-degree-plus afternoon.

This was after I parked my car in a handicapped spot (I have a placard) on 3rd Ave., began to walk toward the stadium, and looked down--only to see my red St. Louis Cardinals shorts (to honor my wife's birthplace).

I thought, No way, the Padres just beat the Cardinals Friday. Someone in line is going to razz me like crazy.

So, quick-thinking, I dodged into CVS, bought the cheapest Scotch tape dispenser, folded a plastic bag so that it would cover the "STL" logo on the left leg, and taped it into place.

In the end, no one razzed me. There wasn't much interchange in line, with masks on, the heat boiling, not much of a group spirit.

That isn't to say people weren't pumped up and supportive of their Padres. Many people walked by us on their way out of the store carrying "Padres" plastic bags holding their "merch". Many of those were chatting, happy, mission accomplished.

Everybody, I imagine, was pretty pumped over the local club finally defeating their nemesis the Cardinals in a postseason series, the first time since 1998. It was/is a big deal.

But with the COVID situation, no one is going around slapping people on the back. We all keep pretty much to ourselves and our companions.

After I bought the shirt for my son-in-law--which he appreciated (I bought a similar one three days before up in Carlsbad)--and the pin, I walked out, tore off the tape and plastic bag over the "STL" logo on my shorts, and continued on my way to my car.

It was a long afternoon, with two hours of intense heat baking down. But I had accomplished my goal, getting near the stadium and taking part in something that had to do with the Padres, my "postseason experience".

By the way, I never told the guy in front of me in line that the Padres are my no. 2 team. No reason to. I enjoy Tatis, Manny Machado, Josh Cronenworth, everyone else.

Heck, I know them backwards-and-forwards after watching many of their games on TV this summer/fall.

I told my grandson, Luke, who is 8, about the Padres. He said, "One thing I don't get: You're for the Dodgers."

I responded to Luke, "The Padres are my number-two team." It made sense to him. It makes sense to me.