Okay, so I headed down to Minute Maid Park, right? Planned for a regular Tuesday night game, Astros doing their thing. Got my seat, usual routine. Grabbed a dog, settled in. You know how it is.
Game started off okay, few innings in. Then you see it coming. Sky gets that weird grey color. You kinda hope it blows over, but nope. Started drizzling, then properly raining. Not a shocker in Houston, let’s be real. Then comes the announcement over the PA system: Rain Delay. Ugh.
What You Do During the Wait
First thing everyone does? Scramble for cover on the concourse. It becomes this instant jam-packed hallway. Forget personal space. You’re suddenly very close friends with about fifty strangers.
So, what did I actually do? Well:
- Wandered around. You see the same faces doing laps after a while.
- Stared at the field. The grounds crew rolls out the tarp, which is honestly kinda cool to watch the first time, less so the fifth time.
- Checked the weather app constantly. Like that helps speed things up. Everyone’s doing it, comparing radar loops.
- Considered getting more food. Then saw the lines and the prices again. Decided my first hot dog was enough.
- Listened to people complaining. Always entertaining, in a way. Lots of armchair meteorologists suddenly appear.
It’s funny, you pay for a baseball game, you end up just… standing around indoors. Kinda felt like being stuck at an airport, but with more team jerseys. You just gotta find ways to kill time. I saw some guys playing cards on a ledge. Smart. Others just slumped against the wall, looking bored out of their minds. The energy just drains out of the place.
Dealing With It
Honestly, it’s frustrating. You psyched yourself up for the game, maybe rearranged your schedule. Now you’re just in limbo. You don’t want to leave ’cause maybe they’ll start again soon. But you also don’t want to wait hours for nothing.
You learn patience, I guess. Or maybe you just get numb to it. I’ve been through enough of these delays over the years. Sometimes they restart, sometimes they call it. It’s a gamble. You just gotta roll with it. It’s part of the deal with baseball, especially here. You can have perfect weather one minute and a downpour the next.
Eventually, word came down they were gonna try and start back up. The rain lightened up, the crew pulled back the tarp (another round of watching that). People started drifting back to their seats, hoping for the best. The game did resume, much later than planned. Felt weird, playing late on a weeknight, but hey, we got baseball in. Left the park way later than I expected, feeling tired but glad I stuck it out. Just another day supporting the ‘Stros, I suppose.
