I went to my last Orioles game of the year last night. It was pretty depressing, really. I wasn’t living in the state when Camden Yards opened, and it was always a treat to take in a game when I’d come in to visit family — if you could get tickets. On top of that, the Orioles were pretty competitive. Exceptionally so in the mid 90s.

Now, a stadium that was packed for years looks like this just after they play the Star Spangled Banner:

I sat in a section that had a few hundred seats in it, I guess. There were four (4) of us in the section. Four. In fact, this is what it looked like to my left:

And to my right:

Those pictures were taken in the bottom of the second inning, when pretty much everyone who’s going to be at the game is there.

Really, depressing. And sad.

On top of that, the team can’t even hold a 6 run lead. So you have a shitty team that can’t fill a great stadium (although not quite as great with the terrific view it used to have oblierated by the soulless hulk of a hotel they built just outside the park) and can’t win over the hearts of kids who want to love them but aren’t given any reason to.

Oh, well. At least a trip to M&T Bank Stadium to see the Ravens is still exciting.