MBA Sports Appreciation, Where the Game is Just Not That Important

The SCU MBA "Network Athletic Connection" had a tailgate party and discount tickets for the A's game yesterday.  One of the guys in the MBA program works for the franchise, so we were able to score a couple of luxury boxes.  Yeah, MBA students can be a well-connected bunch.  I wish that more of them had hiring abilities, but that's another story.

The tailgate party was a great spread, and went strong for at least half an hour after the opening pitch.  With the famously high cost of stadium consumables, the free food and alcohol provided by the NAC organizers was awfully appealing.  It was also the sort of mingling opportunity that was, of course, the main point of the event.

The students who attended made a more diverse crowed than I'd expected.  It was hardly a bunch of fanatical baseball guys.  There were at least a couple of people who'd never been to a baseball game.  I explained some of the nuances to one person, like the likelihood of a first base runner stealing second, when there is also a runner on third.  Somewhere in the middle of my giving too much information, he asked about the importance of the game's result.   In my love for the details of the game, I had forgotten that the final score matters to some people. I was suddenly reminded how goal oriented a lot of MBA students are.  On a couple of levels, the score of this game didn't matter.

The Angels had already secured their division lead, and were definitely not risking their star players. The A's were not expected to win, nor would a win have been significant for them.   Now, growing up in the Northeast, I never understood the importance of a game between California teams… but the stadium experience is fun in any state.  For a couple of hours, it was an excuse for a party, a great chance to meet more people in the program.  More than usual at a baseball game, anyone who focused on the final score was missing the point.  By the time the game ended, everyone seem to be having too much fun to notice.