a peek inside the fishbowl

The last time I went to a baseball game in Ottawa was in the summer of 2019. I was invited to a media/influencer event for the Ottawa Champions and it was a hoot. As a bonus I won a very pretty pair of diamond studs that I still love and wear on the regular. (You can read that post right here.)

Last night we finally went back. FYI, the Ottawa baseball team is not the Champions anymore, it’s the Ottawa Titans. (I also need to remember to stop calling it the Ottawa Lynx Stadium. Ha. I think it’s just the Ottawa Stadium now, right?)

There were lots of families, lots of seats, lots of fly balls being caught by kids in the uppers. It’s a pretty fun night out; an easy night out.

Getting there was easy. Parking was easy, and pretty cheap, all things considered. Food is the usual ballpark food, although there is a Mexican option which I’d like to try next time. We opted for Bigfoot hot dogs — $9.00 each and they are enormous. Onion rings were $10 and we will be actually eating the other half of that serving for lunch today. In hindsight I wish I had opted for the smaller options! Anyhoo, this is not a food review but I will say the Shiny apple cider was really enjoyable – crisp and not too sweet – and I think I’m a convert. Sometimes apple ciders are syrupy and have a weird aftertaste but this one was kinda perfect for the ballpark and paired well with our giant hot dogs. ;)

I mean look at that dog!

I’m sure some of you have reached this point and are wondering how the actual game went. Er, I did watch the game and it went well for the home team but I am far from an expert commentator. All I know about baseball is from what I learned playing baseball in primary school but that was more than enough to sit back and enjoy the game.

If you’ve ever played or watched baseball you already know this is the kind of sport that unfolds at a slower pace and in fits and spurts, but that’s ok… more than ok, in fact! I do need my brain to not be going full speed all the time, you know what I mean?

Super low-key entertainment keeps it all moving along. Musical interludes: Fun. On-the-field contests (i.e. two people racing down the field carrying empty pizza boxes over their heads): FUN. Staff throwing (wrapped) hot dogs and bags of chips into the audience: FUN. Seventh-inning stretch, when actual co-ordinated stretching happened: FUN. My inner eight-year-old was loving every minute.

Did I mention this was family-friendly? There were people of all ages. One group of seniors had cowbells. The people in front of us were grandparents with a BABY and it went amazingly well. Scores of kids were free-ranging with baseball mitts in their hands as they roamed the upper stands. It was, honestly, a joy. Sometimes I wondered if we’d been secretly transported back to 1982.

There were fireworks at the end, and then we were back in the car, on our way home, with smiles on our faces. It was a great way to kick off the Canada Day weekend.

All this to say, I am keen to go again. What I might do differently next time is buy our parking and entry tickets beforehand, just to save a bit of time and effort, and take advantage of online ordering early in the game for food and drinks.

Here’s the Ottawa Titans website for more info.

Have you been? I’d love to hear about your experience with Ottawa baseball.