Pad Squad Andre has a message for us all. A Public Service Announcement from Pad Squad Andre. A PSA from PSA, if you will.
I first just want to say thank you to all of the fans who have come out and supported the Padres the last few weeks. I have met some really amazing fans, even through some of the rough times the Padres have had lately.
I thought I might share one of the many experiences I get to have on a daily basis when I am blessed to come to the ballpark.
The smaller numbers of fans attending games have resulting in allowing some of the smallest voices of Petco to be heard. I would love to highlight all of the kids who have been coming out to the ballpark. There have been many, but I would like to talk about three I met on Saturday nights game vs. the Reds. We had just finished doing Rally Bell with the Swingin’ Friar when I could hear three small voices in the stands yelling "GO PADRES." Ten year old Ethan, Tyler and Benson had their rally caps on where working to cheer on "Big Mac" at the plate despite the seemingly hopeless 7-2 situation. I ran up to them and brought them down to the front of section 315 and I like to think that they help create two errors in that inning. And after each error, not only the three boys, but also all the people in section 315 cheered as if they were the ones who had just made it safely on bases and kept the hope alive for the next batter.
Baseball is such a great game because it allows the ten year old kid in all of us to feel like you are a part of the game. I know each day you pick up a newspaper and turn on the radio they are talking about the fans fleeing the flailin’ Friars. Smaller numbers mean that Petco becomes a more intimate place for those who attend a game. There is an increased likelihood for catching a foul ball, Pad Squad T-shirt or meeting you favorite Padre. And I believe some of the best fans are made during the hardest of times. Fans like Ethan, Tyler and Benson.