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Game 17 | Mets, 5 — Expos, 3 | July 19
Ballpark Summary
 The MLB Trip Team had its first severe culture shock
in Montreal, Canada. Prior to our arrival there were rumors that
French was spoken. The rumors were true. French is spoken everywhere.
French is everywhere. French waiters, French bread, French fries
and French fashion. French road signs, little French dogs dropping
French surprises, French cafes, French art and French fountains.
The Team expected that the French would chill out for a while inside
Olympic Stadium. Not the case. The French carried on. It took the
Team awhile to become fluent in the language, but once fluent, fitting
in was not a problem. Baseball, no matter what language it is played
in, remains American. That having been said, the Team had a nice
time in Montreal and both Mike and Tim retrieved baseballs during
batting practice. We had another interesting encounter with a like-minded
individual. We met a fellow traveler who is on a similar trip. Actually
his trip is so extreme, our trip cannot be compared, but it was
very interesting to exchange stories with him. Matt Malm is “The
Ultimate Sports Fan.” He was going to see 365 sporting events
in one year. He was somewhere around 160 events when we just happened
to run into him in Montreal. Though, no longer online, there was a web site to keep track of his progress and where he gave us a shout out. Still mindblowing that we happened to be in the same stadium on the same day and in the same seating area.
Olympic Stadium was constructed to meet the needs
of Montreal’s 1976 Olympics. The large tower looming above the stadium
does have a purpose. The white roof of the stadium is some kind
of canvas/plastic material. The large tower dispatches an array
of cables that support this cover. The original idea was to have
a convertible stadium; however, the system has been in disrepair
for some time, and is always covered now.
Ballpark Perks
Youppi, the Expos’ mascot nearly rivals the Phillie Phanatic. Despite
speaking mostly French, the Expos fans generally excited, especially
with the Mets in town.
Ballpark Downers
The crowd, though ardent, was very small. The bucket seats were
old and uncomfortable. The turf was artificial.
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