Martin Rodriguez knows this. He's my next door neighbor. So when he called to invite me to go to a Dodger game with him, it wasn't so much an invitation as it was an order. "Hey, I know you're not a big Dodge Fan, but you're going to a game next Wednesday. Clear it with Rocky." A neighbor knows your wife's name. A good neighbor also knows when your wife wears the pants in the family . :)
He's not usually that aggressive, so to be frank, he kind of freaked me out a bit. I was truly afraid to say no. I'm glad I didn't.
Martin scored four tickets to the Dodger's Dugout Club.
For those not familiar, this is the absolute best place you can be in Dodger Stadium. The Club is right behind home plate and the tickets come with everything, including Dodger Dogs. Those in LA are going to kill me for saying this, but I've never understood what the big deal was about Dodger Dogs, so I opted for the Wolfgang Puck and Levy Restaurants buffet.
Nothing says baseball more than Roast Pork rubbed with Italian seasonings.
Martin also invited John Evarts of Classic Property Management of Santa Clarita and Arif Halaby of Total Financial Solutions. Both guys were a pleasure to be around and all three of them knew more about the Dodgers than I'm EVER going to know, so they were my own private game color commentators.
The Dodgers won and the game was great, but the game was really secondary.
Tommy Lasorda was hanging out when we arrived, so we got our photo taken with him. Larry King was within spitting distance. And Alyssa Milano was in the row behind us. Guess which one got more of my attention?
Now, I could have walked up to either of them and asked to take a photo with them as well, but trying to get a photo on the sly was WAY more fun. I felt like one of those photographers for the Planet Earth series, hiding in the jungle for weeks waiting for just the right moment. Alyssa was tough to photograph. She's a major Dodger fan, so she spent much of the game with her ear pressed against a radio listening to the play by play. But I don't give up easily. The Show below will give you a glimpse of the winning shot. :)
Martin, John and Arif were content to let me play my little photo safari game. They teased me all night about my efforts, but I know they were secretly rooting for me to get the shot as much as they were rooting for the Dodgers to win the game - as evidenced by John's emails today asking for the photo. As if I'm going to share it with him.
All kidding aside, I haven't had that much fun with a group of guys in a long time. See for yourself.
Martin, thank you again for a great evening.
Helping people grow their relationships, their network and their businesses by effectively using technology. I am the President and Founder of RealEstateShows.com. Father of 6. Husband of 1.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
Sounds like you had a fun time! Keep going out to events like this every so often. Gotta play every so often to balance out the hard work!
Jeff - love it - gave me some great ideas - I took the boys to the Devil Rays and Threshers - baseball and spring training is big here. I've been working on a post in my mind - glad to see you have greata music :-) well of course. Glad to see you had such fun- well deserved. I actually took a couple of hours off today to get pampered. Holiday weekends are always so busy.
Kaushik... thank you.
Cyndee... are you up early or late? :) Ahh... pampering. I'm going to see if I can get permission for some of that.
Jeff - Up way to late - have buyers in all weekend and had tons to todos - got go catch some zzzzz - did you see the comments for my seller on the RES I did - it's always the same - they fall in love with their "home" all over again - thanks again for RES !!
I took my family to the mid-west last June. The highlight of the vacation was going to Wrigley Field and catching a Cubs game.
Hey Jeff, it sounds like you had a blast. Great seats at the ballpark, check. Getting you picture taken with Tommy Lasorda, awesome. Stalking L. King & Ms. Milano (who by the way gets extra points in my book for being a former 90210 cast member), nice; but geeking out at the game and not one twitter sent, you lost some serious geek cred. haha, j/k ;)
Cyndee... I'd like to call you about that if I could. Tell me when a good time next week would be, after the holiday.
Randy... I've never been to Wrigley. That's one place I've always wanted to go and catch a game.
Andy... I lose geek cred whenever someone realizes my cell phone is 7 years old. :)
I grew up going to Cubs games. It is some of my best memories as a kid. My sons finally got to experience it. The park itself is worth the visit.
When I was little, our parents took us to a Reds/Dodgers double header. I'm not a baseball fan but it was a great time! And that was the greenest grass I'd ever seen! Like you, it was about the experience and fun much more than the game itself.
You did a great job with your stalking! ;o) I was reading aloud to my husband and he was only half paying attention until I said Alyssa Milano. MEN!!
Somehow the show is not playing on my desktop. I'll try and see if I can get it to work on another machine.
Great photos. Thanks for sharing your story it has been a while since I have been to a Braves game.
Sounds like you had a great time. Nothing like catching a ballgame with your buddies. Seeing Alysssa Milano sure doesn't hurt either.
Jeff,
Sounds like it was alot of fun! Btw, have you ever been to Fenway? The best Italian sausage sandwich anywhere! :)
Sorry Jeff..but even though you are a great guy I would have preferred the A. Milano picture...not Lasorda..he is not my type!
Seriously Tommy Lasorda is such a popular guy...I know because he used to show up at many Mets games when I used to go when I lived in NY..not sure you are aware,he was part of the Mets org many years ago.
Thanks for sharing and now i need to have a few hot-dogs this weekend.I'll be sitting in the Marlins picnic area which is in their bullpen..maybe I'll get a few shots with some players. I'm really a Yankee fan but they are playing the Mets.
What a great day! Sounds like something we should all do every now and then! Thanks for the armchair ride along
Jeff, we are BIG Detroit Tigers fans. I love to go to the new Comerica Park. I got to sell Brandon Inge's home in Ann Arbor 2 years ago. Had a blast !
so now you have become Paparazzi??!! That was great Jeff!
Jeff, I really enjoyed the post. I felt like I was there with you. And the paparazzi shots were great:) You should call the Enquirer, maybe they'll give you a few bucks.
Thanks everyone... I had a good time, especially playing the role of paparazzi. As a follow up, when I say Alyssa Milano is a huge Dodge fan, I mean huge. She even has her own blog on the MLB site And Alyssa has turned her passion for baseball into a business, with the creation of a brand new line of basesball clothes for women called, "Touch."
Never been to a Dodgers game, but have beens to Giants and A's and had a great time even without the fabulous seats your friend scored. I'm very glad you went and enjoyed.
Fran
Sounds like a great time... my grandpop was a huge Dodger fan.... even though I am now an east coast girl.... Born in Los Angles so that makes me a transport.... they have a place in my heart... Thanks for sharing
I don't think I would have caught that much of the game while sitting that close to A Milano.
Jeff - Am assuming Alyssa won! Great Show!
Looks like fun! Oh, and Alyssa called, she wants your number!
Jeff: What a great outing, great story and photos. Thanks for sharing!
Jeff-I felt like I was there also. Thank You! Love the show! Nothing like being among friend and enjoying a night out! You made me laugh..........Rocky wears the pants......all good husbands will admit! You put a huge smile on my face................
Jeff, thanks for putting the show together. That was an awesome night. And let me tell all of you, Jeff is very proficient at sneaking pics of people. I don't know where he gets all the practice, but the word voyeur comes to mind. In fact, I think I remember him saying that word after getting that pic of Alyssa, and it just rolled off his lips with a little twinkle in his eye....
Seriously, Martin, can't thank you enough for the opportunity. The seats were incredible, the stargazing was exhilirating, but talking to Jeff Turner and Arif Halaby for 4 hours was.......priceless. Thanks a million, friend. See you Thursday.
Jeff, thanks for sharing your secrets. I wish I had a recorder with me. What was I thinking?! Anyway, it was a true pleasure spending time with you. For any of you wondering, he is just as genuine and selfless in real life.
Arif, what a great time, eh? I hope your kids liked the baseballs. I will talk to you soon.
Jeff - I love to talk on the phone:-) because my fingers get tired (LOL) - any time usually after 8:30pm when I get kids to bed and we're both usually on later so I'd love to chat "live' :-) Let me know what works best for you!
John... truly my pleasure! In every way. And you're way to kind my friend.
Midori... the pants, the shirt, the shoes. She wears it all. :)
Rochell... she knows where to find me.
Cyndee... I'll email you some times.
Hi Jeff - I LOVE this show and of course perfect music to go along with it!! ;-)
Sounds like you had an awesome time! Don't you just love it when a night, or a day, or whatever turns out to be that enjoyable? Great memories of a great time - thanks for letting us share it with you through your post and pics!
Ann
Ann... my pleasure. And the conversations in the car rides were just as good as the game!
They have Spam California Rolls... :)
Okay...
I'm back and I do have a comment to make that actually relates to the post :)
We don't get out much either. We count on people like you posting events like this so we can live vicariously.
So let me wrap this up by saying...Thank you as I SVW.
TLW...ROAR!
TLW [SVW]... "wrap this up" as if that was your last word? Now that's funny!
I knew you'd like that one :)
Jeff..
The post, the pics, the video.. WOW.. Very Nice. A Grand Slam post.
What a fun night that was for all of us. Personally the magic was being there with the 3 most influential friends that I have in this business. (of course I only have 3 friends). I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I didn't realize that I forced the tickets on you so strongly. Hey can you blame me? I was competing with the American Idol grand finale....
Thanks Nikki, Jeff, Arif and John...
Martin
PS.. Final score 5-1 Dodgers over Brewers.. and yes the dugouts cleared out in the 6th inning as a hockey game almost broke out.. No punches thrown so it didn't make the news.. But it was a crazy night.
Good For You Jeff! I'm glad you went and you got some great photos too! Love the last one of the empty field. Looks like you had a great time! We all need to get out and have some fun once in awhile.
Martin... thank you again! It was a great night.
Lysa... I love th empty field photo too!
That video sure looked like a great day with friends....it is pretty cool to be able to compile a diary of such a great day the way you did. Kinda like home movies reinvented!
Michele... you're so right. And if archived well, they may last longer than my Dad's 8mm films did!
Great post, Jeff! I'm the same way...sometimes there's a lot more action and interesting developments in the stands than on the field!
p.s.---after reading several of your blogs, I'm just wondering......IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN'T DO?
:) You're like the superman of the blog world!
Julia... some might say I lack focus. :) I'd like to think I just have varied interests. And when I have a camera in my hand, my mind tends to wander to whatever catches my eye. In this case, there was more than usual.
I love the Dodgers, baseball and great company - so glad you guys had a good time - you know Lasorda does bleed Dodger blue - that is the one thing I miss from California
Thesa... truly! Tommy was wandering through the Dugout Club and put up with more than just our advances. :)
Great Blog Jeff. Nice to see fellow dodger fans showing their dodger pride!!!!!!
Great camera work also kudos to you
Eddy
Thanks, man!
This was such a fun post. I felt like I was right there with you guys! (So, how much are you getting from The Star for the Alyssa Milano pic?)
Peggy... thanks. I had fun writing it. Not as much fun as being there, but close. The star turned me down... ActiveRain was my last resort. :)
Jeff,
Great post, and way to show how a very short video can tell the whole story!