At the old ball game (with a twist)

Have you ever been surprised by something you thought you knew well? Something you wouldn’t question?

We went to a baseball game today as a family. Not something we’ve done often (twice?), even though I played and loved softball as a kid.

It was like stepping into another era.

​Royals Field, in Marysville (our neighbourhood) has been the home of local baseball since 1895. And still today, of a summer evening, the sharp sounds of nasally announcers and little blasts of music waft through our streets.

It’s all really quite charming…

Back to today.

We rolled up an hour into the game. (Strategic parenting!) And gave the kids a rundown on how it works. Particularly the concept of innings and that there are nine.

It was fun. We watched. We sweltered. We saw the only Fredericton home run. We huddled under my umbrella in the spartan, unshaded bleachers.

Then, out of the blue, at the end of the 7th inning, we heard, “That’s a game, folks.” And watched, confused, as the teams shook hands and the sunburnt crowds shuffled off.

We were shocked. (Kayte and I were secretly elated.)

No one else was.

And fair enough—we’re not regulars, after all.

Yet, a part of me wished they’d done something to let us know, to set our expectations. Even just crossing out the last two innings on the scoreboard would have helped.

The cautionary business tale: If your product/service looks A LOT like a known, well-established thing but has a major twist, you NEED to tell people about that twist.

Or they’ll write daily emails about you 🙂

Running home,
James