The Atlanta Braves beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. It was a beautiful day. The kind of day so nice that more than 37,000 people decided to spend money to see the Braves play, even though the opponent was the lowly A's. Still, there's nothing better than baseball on a sunny day.
One group of fans enjoyed themselves on the Coors Light Chop House Deck during the game. They crushed a number of brews in properly branded plastic cups and stacked them into a pyramid before yelling to right fielder Adam Duvall. As he finished his warmup between innings they brought his attention to the stacked cups and he delivered, throwing a perfect strike right down the middle of the triangular zone, sending cups flying and fans into a frenzy.
You don't even need to watch this with your eyes open. Just listen to the buzz in the crowd, followed by brief silence as the ball sails towards its target. Then the plastic explosion and the roar of the crowd.
No matter how good the sports viewing experience gets at home or how high ticket prices might be, there's just no way you can replicate this experience without going to the ballpark. You would never want a stranger to knock over a bunch of cups in your living room, but if you're out in public and Adam Duvall wants to try, everyone will stand around and cheer.
STEPHEN DOUGLAS
