Baseball is not the most famous sport in San Diego. Their team, the Padres, are not one of the nation's top teams. However they were able to beat the LA Dodgers. A team far better, from what I was told, and with a much bigger budget. This was my first live baseball game ever; and with the help from a Korean friend, Jong, I was able to understand the rules of the game.
It was a rather fast game they said... still it lasted 3 hours (!). Most of this time Americans just spent it socializing; eating, drinking, talking, sometimes even outside of the stadium were food and drinks are cheaper. They really only start paying attention to the game around the 5th or 6th inning.
This "baseball field trip" was organized by UCSD's School of Engineering. There is a whole ritual before a baseball game, which we religiously fulfilled: people arrive one or two hours before the game; they arrange for small barbecues in the parking lot just outside of the stadium and drink as much as they can so that they don't spend a lot of money inside. Alcohol is allowed within the stadium, but prices are not friendly. Normal beer starts at $8 USD, and you can get an hot-dog as low as $4 USD.
