Day 3

10:15 a.m., Wednesday

Dear Diary,
I'm sitting in the Patriots dugout -- well, its not dug in anywhere so its more actually more of a bench behind a chain-link fence -- watching the Patriots get loose for practice.
Matt and I went to the Yankees-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game last night. Tropicana Field really is ugly from the outside and the playing surface -- I think it's the carpet from my old college apartment -- is hideous.
But the actual inside of the ballpark is pretty nice. The restaurant in center field is a good touch, there is plenty of room to walk around, its very clean and there is a bathroom every 5 feet. It might be the only stadium in America where it is impossible to wait in line for the bathroom. That's an underrated amenity.
That's the end of the compliments. The parking situation is reflective of the public's opinion of the organization as a whole. Very sloppy, confusing and mismanaged. The stadium was about 3/4 full, but every lot we tried to get in was pre-paid passes only or full. One attendant wanted us to park 18 blocks away from the stadium. FOR A DEVIL RAYS GAME. We got them in the end, however, as we parked close to the stadium in one of those pre-paid lots for free. The only "free" lots in the Bronx cost you your hubcaps.
As for me, I got a whopping six hours of sleep last night. That's a lot after the night before. I feel like a new man, which is a good feeling considering I watched Desperate Housewives on the Internet earlier.

Love,
Ryan