Thanks to Chras's getting of tickets, and Anuj's driving/mini-grill, we had our first White Sox tailgate of the year, before watching the Ring Ceremony and the second game of the season vs. the Indians. It was a terrible game (Sox got blown out 8-2), a lot colder and windier than we expected, but everything else was perfect.
It's not often that you get to see your team receive its championship rings in person, but that was exactly what we got to see. Getting to remember the feelings of last year's run was great enough in itself, but I think the Sox promoters really did a great job of making it special. There was the cool highlight videos playing on the big screen, the free "replica" ring given to the first 20,000 fans to the stadium (it's nicer than it sounds), and the F-16's flying over the stadium after the national anthem, which were all very nice.
But the best moment for me the introduction of Aaron Rowand. If I had a favorite player from last year, it would probably have been Rowand, for his amazing defensive plays and just overall hustle. So of course I was sad when they traded him in the offseason. I won't write a whole long tribute for him like Dee Brown, but it was definitely cool to see him make it back for the ring ceremony. Judging by the crowd's reaction, I think a lot of other Sox fans felt the same way too.
Anyways, I won't write that much more about the experience, having already written plenty about the Sox last year. So here are some pictures (taken by my new phone, in case you were wondering):
