Being in a rain delay can be agonizing for players and fans alike. After all, no one goes to baseball games or flips on the TV just to watch rain drip on the field.
What are some things one can do to stave off boredom as people wait for the game to get underway?
Leave and go home. If sitting around getting drenched isn't up your alley, take off. The only problem is when you have a job to do at the game and you take off without permission. In spring training of 2009, two Baltimore Orioles announcers did just that.
Just blame the rain. Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen lip-synched the song "Blame it on the Rain" and it was played on the video screen at Fenway Park during rain delays in 2008.
Dance — as St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Casey Mulligan does so well, re-enacting the Thriller dance while the rain fell.
Nevermind dancing. Have a dance-off. After all, what's more fun than dancing? USF and UConn
had a dance-off in a
five-hour rain delay in 2009. Never thought the macarena would be
making a comeback.
Watch the grounds crew struggle with putting the tarp on the field. There are many tarp incidents of note, but one happened in May of 2009. The Washington Nationals' crew had to double back in an attempt to get the water off the tarp before they could move it. Hilarity ensued.
Once the tarp is in place, go sliding. One of the greatest joys of childhood is when summertime rolls around and it's time to break out the slip-n-slide. How jealous are fans that baseball players get the biggest slip-n-slide tarp available?
Participate in skits. FAU put together some hilarious skits during a rain delay in April. From pretending to ride a roller coaster to putting together a faux wrestling match to pretending the field is a battleground (complete with a sniper in the stands), these guys know how to pass the time.
While rain delays can be frustrating, there's also plenty of fun to be had.
