Last night one incredibly brave dude stuck around until the bitter end of the Vancouver Canadians baseball game, watching them lose 12-3 at Nat Bailey Stadium, in nine-degree weather.
He was dressed in slacks with flip flops.
We'll call him Flip Flops Dude, and while he may have been alone in his choice of attire he certainly wasn't by himself in his dedication to the home team.
In fact, many fans remained in their seats and cheering past 10 p.m. to watch the beloved C's lose - myself included - but none of us were as brave as Flip Flops Dude sitting in Row 1 in Section J, behind home plate.
Hopes for a C's win began to wane early, with the opposing Eugene Emeralds up 9-0 in the middle of the fourth inning, but our Dude stayed put along with a high percentage of the Tuesday night crowd.
Sure the temperature didn't drop after the 7:05 p.m. start and hovered around nine degrees the entire game, but Flip Flops Dude's grit and determination to expose his feet to the spring weather was inspirational.
As a more timid fan, I likely would have headed to the team store and bought a pair of branded socks and worn them with my flip flops. I wasn't even brave enough to approach him and ask him how and why he chose that type of footwear for an outing such as this. I didn't dare.
Flip Flops Dude will remain an anonymous hero to me and to other fans, inspiring us to get out and enjoy more spring baseball.
This week's six-game home stand continues with games starting at 7:05 p.m. tonight (April 26) and Thursday, and 1:05 p.m. start times for the home games Friday through to Sunday.
Dress accordingly.
