Day 63 & 64 - A Cheerleader & A Paparazzi

Well, this is about it...only 6 more home games for the regular season, then at them absolute most...I could work another 10 games after that...IF the Cardinals have home field advantage through the NLCS and take every series to the 5th or 7th game and make it to the World Series. At the very least, I could have only 2 more games, if they don't have home field advantage and lose in the first round. This season of my job as a beer man is coming to a close. The more they keep on winning, the longer I have a job...so let's pray they get their act together and give me an extension on my job! So many stories yet to share...So many blogs I've waited to talk about till the end of the season...(*sigh*)...but for now, here are the past 2 days of work:

Tuesday's stories:

I have numerous stories of things that I overhear while changing in the locker room...but this one might just top them all.

I was changing into my uniform when this older guy walks in and says, "Hey, aren't you that cheerleader?"

I look up with a confused look on my face and ask, "what?" (even if I did hear him, I needed him to repeat the question) I just thought to myself, 'does it look like i have a skirt on? do i have pom-poms in my hands? HELL NO! what's this guy talking about?'

He looked back at me and realized I wasn't who he was talking to/about.

He said, "Oh I thought you were that cheerleader." He read the look of confusion on my face as I shook my head and replied, "no."

"Oh, are you a beer vendor?" he asked. I said "yeah." He said, "oh. wow you look young and I thought you were him at first. That high school food vendor who is a cheerleader for his high school...he comes here and does cheers while he is selling food to get people pumped up and involved with the game....but you aren't him, so nevermind."

**************************

Wednesday stories:

Another day game = business time. That's right...tons of people in their business attire at the game. Maybe I should switch the title to "retired business time"...I witnessed something I'll hopefully never see again in my life.

I saw 3 different locations that had been turned into temporary parking lots for rascal scooters...not sure what I'm talking about? www.rascalscooters.com I'm not joking...saw about 8 or 9 of them parked next to each other inside the Red Bird Club at one point during the game.

Quite possibly the funniest and scariest sight at the same time!

Retirement homes and high schools were the main crowd at the game...scattered around were the business-folk. So many elderly people throughout the crowd falling asleep by the end of the 5th inning. Tons of high schoolers in the upper upper deck...would have hated to be working up there as a beer man...it's not like any teachers/sponsors would be buying anything....

While being assigned to commissary 441 during the day game, I decided to make my way down to the area I normally work (240-255) since there wouldn't be many beer men there at all...

It was slow to start off with...people were late to get into their seats and hardly anyone wanted to drink beer till around the 3rd inning...

While selling a few beers to these guys in one section, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a lady behind them slowly bring her camera up and snapping a few pictures of me...I was caught off guard. I had a paparazzi?

At first I was thinking, 'who wouldn't want a picture of the beer man?'...then I was like...What the heck!?!? Should I have carded those guys and is this a secret shopper catching me not carding someone? they looked like they were over 30...why is she still taking pictures of me?

I quickly got out of that section not knowing if I was caught screwing up? or what was going on?

When I got up to the commissary, I asked a supervisor if their secret shoppers snap photos of us? He said no, they would just talk to us...they don't have people taking photos...

That was comforting to know. So during last call, I decided to try my luck down that section where the paparazzi was. I sold a few beers and noticed her starting to bring her camera up...the lady next to her spoke up. We are gonna blow your picture up and put it in our scrapbook as our beer-man we had during this game. I was relieved to know she wasn't some secret shopper or some news station trying to catch beer men in the act of breaking rules....not that I had broke any, just comforting to know she was just an avid photographer. She kept taking shots of me...not putting the camera down or pulling her finger off of the button....I could hear the camera clicking non-stop! I wasn't about to just leave, I was making plenty of sales in that section at the time!

The lady that had spoken up finally told the paparazzi, "ok, that's enough. put that thing down."

They just smiled to me and told me thanks for being around in their section for the day. They were definitely a different breed of cougars that I had not encountered before...I appreciated their sincerity, but it was fricken creepy to see someone taking pictures of me like that.


Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
155 Bottles of Water
270 Bags of Peanuts
4132 Bottles of Beer

Day 62 - A Realist & A Scam Artist

Monday night games usually aren't the best nights for a beer man. Fewer people come to the games and those who are there drinking stop after a few beers because they either have to drive themselves home or are working the next day and don't want to go into work with a hangover.

Well, last night was a great night for this beer man.

With Wellemeyer on the mound, I figured it would have been an easy 'W' for the Marlins...guess the Marlins decided to show up and have their pitcher allow the Cards have some batting practice too. I mean I think the first inning took nearly an hour! I wasn't going to complain.

I was able to sell nearly 4 cases on a Monday night...which is pretty good!

*******************************

Before my night even started, I was hanging out at in the commissary talking to some of the guys. One of the food vendors (usually high school kids or anyone under 21 or anyone not selling beer) walks up to me and says, "you're the only realist here in this commissary."

I tried to understand what he was trying to say, "What do you mean?"

He just looked back at me and said, "you're the only guy that's actually real in here...these other guys are just wacked out....so you're a realist...you need to teach some of these other guys how to be chill."

I just thanked him as I was somewhat laughing at his statement, remembering back a few days ago when I had a conversation with this kid about why I wasn't married yet if I have a girlfriend. He didn't quite understand my reasoning of needing/wanting to have a full-time job before thinking about taking on the responsibility of supporting someone else besides myself. He just kept going in circles in his adolescent mind thinking of how that didn't make a bit of sense to him. So young. So naive.

*******************************

During the very first part of the game, I had just made my way down a section and was selling a couple of guys some beers when something bizarre occurred.

I carded these two guys who looked like they were in their mid-20's and they were.
I handed these guys each a beer.
I remembered as I write this that they wanted a Bud Select and a Bud Light.
I turn around to the other side of the aisle to sell a beer.
As I was finishing that sale, I hear these two guys I just sold beers to yell to get my attention.

One of them said, "is there something wrong with your case of beer? I think something is wrong with your case of beer."

I just looked back at him confused cause I hadn't had any complaints or anything...

He just held up an empty Bud Select bottle and said, "I don't know how to explain it, but I sat this down and after I put my change away, I picked it up and it was empty. There isn't anywhere that I spilled the beer or anything. It's weird man, you gave me an empty beer."

I look back at him, look down into my tub of beer, back up to him holding the empty bottle...knowing that I handed him a full beer and that I would notice handing an empty bottle to someone. I looked down at his feet and there wasn't any place that looked like there was beer spilled on the ground. I didn't see a cup that he could have poured it into or anything....there was no way he could have just chugged that bottle in that short span of time that I just made another sale.

I replied to him, "I'm sorry about that. But I know I gave you a full beer and would notice handing an empty bottle to you sir."

Then the guy in front of him spoke up to say, "ya know what, I'll just buy him a beer. I heard him saying something was weird about his beer just a second ago...I'll buy him one so no one loses here."

The original guy started to say, "no, no, no, it's okay, i'll buy it."

I wasn't about to give this tool a free beer. I could see it on his face, he was trying to score himself a free beer by confusing the little young beer man...

He bought another beer from me and I decided to stay out of that section...they've taught us that if we every have conflict or problem with a fan to simply stay out of that section...I guess they figure it's best that way so that fan doesn't try to start something the next time you come around. Avoiding someone to avoid confrontation and conflict is the best solution right? HA!

I imagine that he probably had a cup that he was hiding under something or handed a cup to someone else around him...the elderly couple sitting next to them did seem to act like something odd was going on...hmmmm...yes, maybe the 80 year old woman next to him took it....ha!

After I got back to the commissary, I explained the situation and they said it definitely sounded like a scam and that I did the right thing and to just alert other beer men so they don't get scammed.

I just laugh thinking of what he said "...there is something wrong with that case of beer..." ....ha! yeah, i should have said, "so guess won't be wanting another one then will you"... damn idiot!

*******************************

...also someone caught the stlbeerman in action.



Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I saw a kid get hit by a bat. I know it was towards the 6th or 7th inning when on of the Marlin's swung at a ball and his bat went flying over the top of the visitors dugout and hit a kid. He was alright from what I could tell. He walked it off. Medical personnel were on the scene immediately.

Totals thus far:
73 Bags of Cracker Jacks
149 Bottles of Water
264 Bags of Peanuts
3969 Bottles of Beer