Let's compare our experience with the reports:
"Though Kasten didn't have an attendance figure, thousands of fans were seen getting autographs..."
Well...Half Street did see a LONG line for Zim - the more memorable line for us was this one taken at 1:10 p.m. - before the gates opened (15 minutes late).
But that excitement was just beginning as, "attendees were able to take a tour of the clubhouse and take batting practice in the indoor cages near the clubhouse. "
That's true...HSB did get to tour the clubhouse. And we were surprised to see the optimism of the Nationals clubhouse personnel....
In case you can't read the name, that's Dmitri Young's locker. You'll notice it's empty - good thing - it's probably best that he has his diabetes medicine with him in Onondaga County.
And speaking of starry-eyed optimism, some fan said that NatsFest was "an opportunity to meet the players and the front-office people. "
Well, maybe Mr. Fan got to meet the front-office staff, but Half Street Blues couldn't even get in to George Will. This is as close as we got:
Yep, like so many other times in our lives, HSB was on the outside looking in...
But there were some clever Nats fans who wouldn't be shut out - they decided to listen to Mr. Will on the stadium's sound system...
Kasten is looking forward to next year, "We certainly want to do it again, and we want it to be bigger."
Great.
UPDATE: Our friend Dave over at Nationals News Network had a better experience than us - not surprising - it's much cheerier than us...but this was interesting:
But the primary objective for most of the fans were the autographs and pictures, and the lines were just ridiculous. There were many suggestions that they should have separated the players instead of having just one autograph stage.
But the idea that the "face of the franchise" was contractually prohibited from signing was a HUGE problem. Try telling an eight-year old that Ryan Zimmerman couldn't sign his glove. It ended in tears.
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