Last Monday evening everyone in History 528:?Baseball as American History piled into Dr. Hunnicutt’s 7-seat Toyota. (Yes the class is that small. Welcome to the history major.) We departed from Special Programs and headed east to Dodger Stadium.
Generously Hunnicutt paid us students’ way that night; tickets and parking were on the house. Since it was only an exhibition game against the Angels we were able to secure seats along the first baseline for only $9 a head. I’m sure the enthusiastic fans around us appreciated our constant references to baseball players managers and journalists who died before Dodger Stadium was even built.
What struck me Monday night at the game was not a foul ball. None came our way. And since they didn’t let me bat I didn’t strike out either. What struck me were the many similarities between an exhibition game at Dodger stadium and our Pepperdine experience.
In 1983 Benedict Anderson theorized that nations are “imagined communities.” (Ever since Dr. Sharyl Corrado has thanked her lucky stars for such a precise definition of a nation to teach her Humanities 313 students.) The truth is nations though distinct resemble other nations in important ways. Waves nation and Dodger nation are no different.
Some of the initial similarities between the Dodgers and the Waves are purely superficial. In both places parking’s a nightmare when it’s most needed but at off hours it’s generally all right. Such was the case at the exhibition game. Such is the case in the Smothers lot when you’re at the library till close. But where are the spaces in the regular season? Where are the spaces at 9:50 a.m. on Monday morning?
Interestingly the Dodgers fly flags of legitimate nations behind home plate much like we do on the wall of the Caf. I guess we both recognize it’s a small world after all. Why not aggrandize your own quasi-nation by celebrating U.N.-recognized nations?
Further both Dodger Stadium and Pepperdine have palm trees in their outfields. And both spend millions of dollars to keep the grass looking highlighter green. Stop thinking about alternative uses for that money. That money cannot be better spent on anything else. In SoCal it takes green to keep the grass green. This is the way of things.
Also food and drinks work the same way in both places: long lines expensive price tags questionable meat and identical Coke cups.
More substantially the game atmosphere resembles Songfest. Evidently no genuine emotion can be felt in the crowd unless it is expressed in song. Just as those woodland creatures just had to sing “Fire Burnin’ so too must Dodger Stadium erupt in Iron Man” when Broxton comes out to relieve. Incidentally he lost the game.
Both in Malibu and downtown Los Angeles frat-tastic young men make things interesting — and slightly annoying. They stand and shout things: “Go Waves!” or “Go back to the O.C. Angels!” Then they sit back down and kiss their girlfriends leaving you wondering: “How’d that guy get a girlfriend? Is there anything attractive about someone that shallow?” Then your Dodger dog gets mustard all over your hoodie.
There’s segregation at both Dodger Stadium and Wednesday morning chapel; people choose to sit according to social class. For example only psychotic Dodger fans take the bleachers. All the wealthy season ticket holders hole up behind home plate. In this same way athletes and Greek groups all sit by themselves in the wings leaving everyone else to fill up the middle. Plus both Dodger fans and Waves show up late and leave early especially when things go south.
Finally the Dodgers and the Waves have about as much a chance of winning as the other. This forces fans to find better ways to entertain themselves than by merely watching the game. Thus at Dodger stadium people start the Wave. Back at Pepperdine people ride the Wave shuttle away from sporting events.
All in all the game was fun even though the Dodgers lost 5-4. Let’s hope we can as Waves nation enjoy Pepperdine’s sports despite losses too.
By the way don’t think I didn’t recognize the differences. Beer screaming children and vehement cursing make Dodger Stadium a very different place from Pepperdine.