Opening Day Ceremonies: The Highs, The Lows, and The Things That Make You Say.."HMMMM?"

Good Evening Bullets Fans!

It was a comfortable 83 degrees today. The wind-- coming from the NW at 14 mph. Humidity is at 53%. From my meteorologist point of view, a little overcast but the breeze is nice and you can smell the BASEBALL IN THE AIR! But don't just take my word for it. Let me show you what it looked like this morning at the homestead.

(Above: The view look out of the front door)

Where we last left off on our Bullets in Cooperstown tour, we stopped in the land of pins. Hope you all enjoyed the history lesson and the behind-the-scenes, inside look of Bullets Pin Trading at its finest. Next up on our tour, Opening Day Ceremonies.

Opening Day Ceremonies took place last Saturday (the 19th). It started around 5pm and definitely had some highlights, low lights and moments that left quite a few of us wondering, "Hmmm??" But first, the Highlights:

Coming into the Dreams Park was definitely one of the highlights of this trip. As I'm sure most of the Bullets parents would agree, for many months the main topic of discussion has been the Cooperstown Trip. We've seen videos and photos of this infamous park but of course, it's not the same as when you first drive onto the campus. On my previous pin trading blog, I included photos specific to the pin trading party. On today's update we will work our way backwards so that you can see a few other aspects of what the park looks like.

BRING ON THE VISUALS..

(A sea of vehicles with messages all about Cooperstown)

(Coach Ryan and Brandon)

(Arcade for the players)

(The infirmary)

(Fitz and Pickle were guests of this lovely establishment a few times. Nothing major, thankfully!)

(Conference Tent for the Coaches - Where a lot of the meetings took place)

(A view from where the boys barracks)

(GOT FLAGS? Walking towards the fields- there are flags everywhere)

(Players from different teams practicing)

(Just in case you forget where you are. These signs are all over the place)

(Above: The Bullets Entrance to their Castle - castle = humble abode)


....Live The Dream

View of the barracks

Another view of the field

And another view
By now you should have a pretty good visual of the park.

Now back to Opening Day Ceremonies..

THE HIGHLIGHTS

(The Opening Day Field)

(Another shot of the field on Opening Day)

The ceremonies were 2 hours long (WAY TOO LONG). For the first hour of the ceremonies the founder of Cooperstown talked. He talked about the history of Cooperstown, then we saw various parents come out on the field and dance the Can-Can routine to a random baseball song. Following that, a group of men (Cooperstown Volunteers) came out and danced to YMCA. Okay so everyone agreed that this part of the ceremony was completely random and did not make any sense. In keeping in alignment with baseball, the majority of the first hour of the ceremony was out of "left field." Of course, the moment we were all eagerly awaiting for...THE BULLETS!

...FINALLY...after an hour of waiting in an overly crowded stadium.

ENTER THE BULLETS!

(Hard to see because everyone is wearing the same red and blue colors--look for the banner).

( Above: Nate and Gigs carrying the banner)

Let's Go Bullets!

(Amidst a sea of red and blue)

The boys right after ceremony

Another shot

Just goofin' around

..And away they go

Off to the skills competitions.

They are:

Golden Arm (Throw from Center to Home Plate and hit a target):

Drew "Gigs" Giglio

Road Runner (Timed run around the bases):

Nate "Nater" Thimjon

King of Swat (Home Run Contest):

Joe "Big Joe" Marchant

Around the Horn (Throw the Ball to all 9 positions timed):

The other 9 Bullets

Overall, everyone did fine but nobody made it to the second round.

We've entered the LOW-LIGHT part of the tour.

The Around the Horn skill for our boys was a LOW-LIGHT of the day.

But there was one part of the skills competition that the boys and parents enjoyed.

Watching the King of Swat Finalists from the stands

Others need to be up and close to the action

The "King of Swat" competition.

2 kids tied in the finals so they had a swing off.

One kid from San Diego won 4 to 3 in the swing off by hitting 4 balls out of the stadium.

When asked what they thought of it, the Bullets response..

(Above: Scorekeeper Stan and "That Boy Just Ain't Right" Stu)

Overall, the night was very memorable. Some of the events we would like to forget. In addition to the really long speeches that took place before the parade onto the field, we could have done without the can-can dancers and the YMCA routine (Really??)

Also, while the sky diving surprise was supposed to add some flavor to the ceremonies, this was another moment we could have done without. Picture 3 men over the ages of 60 sky diving onto the field to give the game ball that would be thrown out. ...Yes, could have done without that part, too.

To sum it up:

The Low-lights: The long speeches, random non-baseball related dancing, the sky divers.

The High-lights: Seeing our boys in the parade and perform during skills competitions. Being in the Cooperstown Dreams Park, of course.

The things that made us say, "Hmmm": The can-can dancers, YMCA dancers, sky divers, and the statement the founder of Cooperstown said. And I quote, "Cooperstown is the only park that does not allow non-United States teams to participate. Let other countries allow foreign aid." A few of us looked at each other like, "What? Did he just really say that?" Then in his next sentence he said, "This park was established for my grandmother who could barely speak any English."...We all looked at each other and just thought, "HMMMM??"

We have come to the end of the Opening Day Ceremony Tour.

Join us next time when we discuss the heart of the Cooperstown trip..THE GAMES

Speaking of games. As most of you who are reading this know, we lost today's game 6 to 3. This was a tough loss for us. When I say "us" I am referring more to the parents than the players. Although some of the boys were upset, this emotion only lasted for about 10 minutes....More commentary to follow...on the next update.

ADDED WEBCAM GAME: Wednesday, 23rd @ 12pm (3pm Eastern)

Hey, Hey All you Cooperstown Bullets Followers!

Why wait to see the stats online or hear about the game third party?!
BE PART OF THE ACTION!
Click on the link below and follow the directions to watch our LIVE GAMES via the webcam.
http://www.cooperstowndreampark.com/

1. Click on the link to main Cooperstown website
2. Select 2010
3. Select Week #3
4. Select LIVE WEBCAM AND GAMECAM
5. Register
**If you are unable to view it--you may have to download the REAL PLAYER application.**

Game 7 - Single Elimination Tournament: Wednesday, June 23rd @1pm (3pm Eastern) Field 6
I'M FIRED UP! YOU FIRED UP?!LET'S GO BULLETS!

Cooperstown..The Chills! Thrills..and Skills: Let's Talk About Pins, Baybee!

...And we're back.

My apologies for the delay. Due to some technical difficulties with loading the photos and the hustle and bustle nature of our day-to-day schedule, I have been writing this particular update since Sunday.

So where were we? Oh yes..PINS! Without insulting anyone in Blog Land (i.e. Cyberspace/the Great Void) I am going t0 take you on a tour (not a 3 hour one) of the pin trading experience that happens while staying at Cooperstown. When I began this blog I promised to provide you with the sights, smells, and sounds of all things Cooperstown. So here we go..

But first! Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages!.. Put your hands together for - the -

Norcal Bullets of Elk Grove 2o10 Cooperstown pin!

Pin design created by: Laura Schanning & Heidi Jamison

Pins created by: Express Trading Pins

What is pin trading ?
Technically, the pin trading party is scheduled (according to the CTown schedule) to take place on Opening Day. That is what the schedule dictates, but how it really went was something like this:

Most of the players drove through the gates of Cooperstown on Friday, the 18th at approximately 6:30pm. From the moment the Bullets arrived in the park players from the other teams were coming up to the cars eagerly wanting to begin the pin trading festivities. Saturday, the 19th was Opening Day. On this day all family members are able to go to the park and be part of the action for a limited amount of time. Could it be? Was I actually going to "THE"
Cooperstown Dreams Park? After all this time I was finally going to be able to see the park we have been talking about for the last 8 months. Cooperstown here, Cooperstown there, EVERYWHERE a Cooperstown (E- I - E -I - O).

WOW! I was on the inside! I was seeing, touching, and feeling Cooperstown. Within minutes of being in the park, I realized I was smack dab in the middle of the pin trading extravaganza.
I stood back and observed all of the action unfold.

What I saw reminded me of a scavenger hunt. Let me further define that-- A scavenger hunt-- after having 2 cans of Red Bull. There was a sea of kids running all over the place going from barrack to barrack in hopes of finding a pin better than the next. In fact, the bigger and more blinged out, the better. Speaking of Bullets.. and pin trading...put your hands together for some Bullets I was able to stop (more like hold hostage) long enough to snap a shot of them while engaged in the pin trading party.

(Above: Stu Davies)

( Above: Kevin Fitzgerald)

(Above: Jonathan Kelly)

One aspect I found interesting is that the kids are not always trading a pin for a pin. Players will go around trading for any pin that they do not yet have. What that means is that they will offer you a pin for another pin from a different team (make sense?). But it is not uncommon to have a player snub your pin. If your pin is too small, or not blingy enough, pin swap...DENIED. This act of rejecting a pin is called: Pin Snobbery.

Okay so let us review: Pins = Huge experience within Cooperstown- a staple of the Dreams Park. Purpose: To have all of the teams interact and break the ice before games begin. It's also the gift that keeps on giving because throughout the week, this past-time keeps the players occupied; especially the ones that are competitive about getting all of the pins. What kind of pins are preferred?: If possible, all of them. However, it's the bigger and more blinged out ones that are coveted most. If someone does not want to trade with you because your pin is not up to par this is referred to as: Pin Snobbery.
And there you have it. Cooperstown Pin Trading 101.

Now that you know what the pin trading experience consists of, let us take it a step further and enlighten all of you Bullets fans with a behind the scenes look at what pin trading was like for the Bullets. Did they spend every night staring at their pins and rearranging them on their towels?

(Martin Kelly and Coach R'lyeh)

NOT EXACTLY.

In the end, most of the dads became the Pin Trading Masters.

(John Fitzgerald w/Kevin, JoJo, and Brandon)

( Above: JK and Martin Kelly)

( Above: Bullets Group: more pin trading)

(Sanchez Fam: Andrew and Matt)

(Pin trading check list - how many more teams do we need?)

(Coach Ryan - engaging in negotations for pin swap with other team.)

(..Still negotiating. "I'll see your pin and raise you with two of ours."

(SOLD! The deal is sealed: Here comes the hand/trade off - From Martin to Ryan to the other team)

And the almost finished product looks like:

(Above: Andrew Sanchez. Quite a few pins there already)

..Speaking of Pin Trading Masters..Introducing...

Kevin "I'm going to get all of these pins perfectly aligned if it takes me the entire trip/ No more wire hangars!" Gibbons

(Like I said earlier, most of the dads took over the trading of the pins)

To date, 6 of the 12 Bullets have collected all of the pins.

....This concludes Day 1 in CTown: Pin Trading

...Coming up next

....Opening Ceremonies

The Higlights, The Lowlights, and The Things That Make You Say..

.."Hmmmmm?"