{"id":8246,"date":"2022-10-01T16:22:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T16:22:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=8246"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:59:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:59:24","slug":"date-night-at-dbap-when-love-comes-to-the-ballpark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2022\/10\/01\/date-night-at-dbap-when-love-comes-to-the-ballpark\/","title":{"rendered":"Date Night at DBAP: When love comes to the ballpark…."},"content":{"rendered":"
They have known each other for more than 50 years. They grew up together but went their separate ways, only to reconnect a few years ago. On a recent scorching Sunday, they sit out beyond right field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, a married couple now, recalling how baseball helped draw them back together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On a concourse, a minister and his wife sit together, savoring a pre-game dinner. They hold hands.\u00a0 Over the years, going to Bulls\u2019 games has blossomed into a sweet, semi-regular ritual.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once the game starts, two twenty-somethings wander around the stadium, flirting as they search for food. They connected online, and they think they might like each other. They\u2019re on a first date.<\/span><\/p>\n The Durham Bulls, who rode a five-game winning streak into the Triple A division’s<\/span>\u00a0International League championship game this weekend, don\u2019t host an official Date Night at DBAP. But if a recent Sunday is anything to go by,\u00a0 they don\u2019t have to: We met lifelong soulmates, witnessed budding romances, and saw ample evidence that there\u2019s lots of love to be found at the ballpark. Here are three couples\u2019 stories:<\/span><\/p>\n Karen and Kevin McHarg<\/b><\/p>\n A blind date began Karen and Kevin McHarg\u2019s two-decade-long love story. As two \u201clater-in-life folks,\u201d they both went into it with the same mindset: the connection was either there, or it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But a full day of adventures that started in church and went into hiking, bowling and eating lots and lots of Mexican food told them everything they needed to know about each other. They talked about politics, whether the other wanted children, their futures, religion. All day long, Kevin said, they asked questions that shouldn\u2019t be asked on a first date.<\/span><\/p>\n By their second date, at a neighborhood Christmas party, everyone already thought they were in love. Friends\u2019 mothers began \u201cplanning a wedding\u201d at that same party, and 10 months later, they were the McHargs.<\/span><\/p>\n The couple, originally from California, have moved around the world together, living in China and Germany\u00a0 before settling down in Apex, N.C. Both in their 60s now, and still in love, the McHargs\u00a0 enjoy getting time alone when they\u2019re not at work (she\u2019s an accountant) or at home with their two kids.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just before the game began that Sunday, the two sat next to each other on the second-floor concourse, sharing pizza and salads. This season, they purchased a 10-game ticket pack for fireworks games, typically held on Fridays and Saturdays. But sometimes, to end the week, they like to have a date night on Sundays, which led them to the stadium that evening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The tradition started when the family first moved to the area and got tickets to the PNC Triangle Club, a luxury seating option at the stadium, through her job. Karen and Kevin remember the day vividly, as their young sons met Wool E. Bull in the elevator.<\/span><\/p>\n “We came back the next time, and our youngest was selected to run the bases with Wool E. Bull,\u201d Kevin said. \u201cAnd from that point forward, he was baseball. Nothing but baseball. Baseball all the time. He slept with his glove and with his ball, he was always baseball. And so we just decided that this was a great place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As game time approached, they took each other\u2019s hands, preparing to laugh and tease between innings. Being at the ballpark also means letting loose while they root for the home team.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is the place to go yell and scream,\u201d Kevin said with a smile.<\/span><\/p>\n Marie and Randy Jones<\/b><\/p>\n An older couple sat together, high in one of the 100 sections beyond right field, in the sunshine. As the woman used her hands to fan herself in the 95-degree heat, the man took off his Durham Bulls bucket hat and placed it on her head.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The couple, Marie and Randy Jones, grew up going to the same church, but when they first met more than five decades ago, it was taboo for them to mix. That\u2019s because she went to Raleigh City School and he went to Wake County School.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRaleigh City thought they were better than anyone at Wake County,\u201d Marie, 70, said.<\/span><\/p>\n The two began going out only about five years ago after a chance reconnection. They bonded over lots of things, especially their love of baseball. She grew up going to softball and baseball games, and he played both sports until 1988 when he got \u201cknocked out at home plate\u201d and decided to hang up his cleats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As they grew closer, both realized they were The One. So after a year together, Randy proposed on a riverboat cruise in Wilmington. She said she would think about it and let him know in three weeks. But three days later, she called him up to say yes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBest thing that ever happened to me,\u201d said Randy, 69, of marrying Marie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The feeling is apparently mutual. Marie loves him for many reasons, but says she really appreciates his selfless kindness.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo matter how hard or how much he\u00a0 may have wanted to watch something on TV,\u201d she says, \u201che will get in the car and drive me wherever I need to go and not say a word.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hunter Spitzer and Amaris Smith<\/b><\/p>\n Before the game, Hunter Spitzer and Amaris Smith each stood alone before they found each other outside the ballpark. The two had never met in person, but they had talked for several days after matching on Hinge, a dating app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Each thought the other seemed nice and friendly \u2014 someone worth getting to know. In their first conversation, they complimented each other\u2019s smiles. In their profile photos, they both beamed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From there, they talked about music. Spitzer first sent Smith a playlist, and then she sent one back. The one she sent was full of love songs.\u00a0 After Smith sent him the playlist, Spitzer wasn\u2019t sure what to think.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI told him to read the vibes,\u201d Smith said, laughing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He then asked if she wanted to go on a date, and just a few days later they made it to the ballpark.<\/span><\/p>\n Spitzer, who is 24 and a researcher, grew up in Hillsborough, N.C., and had always known the stadium as a place to have fun. If the conversation drops off, there\u2019s always the game to talk about, he joked.<\/span><\/p>\n At first, as the two met outside the stadium before heading in, things were slow and quiet.\u00a0 But the atmosphere\u2013small children dancing to the players\u2019 walk-up songs, on-field entertainment between innings, and the game itself\u2013eventually gave them plenty to talk about.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soon, they traversed the park, exploring its ins and outs and searching for the perfect funnel cake. They found one at a stand near a side exit. After grabbing their snack, the two headed back to their seats to share the messy but delicious-looking treat.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going really well,\u201d said Smith, a health care professional who is also 24.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Hunter flashed a smile and agreed: \u201cI\u2019m having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Bulls fell to the Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRaiders, 14-2, that evening, but the couple enjoyed the evening nonetheless\u2014so much so that they decided to go on a second date.<\/span><\/p>\n At top of story: Hunter Spitzer and Amaris Smith share a funnel cake at a recent Durham Bulls home game. It was their first date. Photo by Ana Young — The 9th Street Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They have known each other for more than 50 years. They grew up together but went their separate ways, only to reconnect a few years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[103,300],"class_list":["post-8246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-in-durham","tag-durham-bulls","tag-durham-bulls-athletic-park","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n