Pin #122: Citizens Bank Park Inaugural Season

This is a pin I bought during my first visit to Citizens Bank Park.  When the park opened in 2004, I made sure to make a visit to go see it, and to see family, too, of course.  I wanted to get there early so I could walk around and explore, but that didn't happen, so I had to explore and shop during the game.  Naturally, I bought a pin.  I like this pin because it has the Liberty Bell set behind the Phillies logo.  It's a nice looking pin.  On a side note, the game where I bought this pin was also the last game I attended with my grandma.  She was an even bigger Phillies fan than me, and it was always fun going to games with her.

Pin #121: Yankees-Red Sox

I saw this pin when I went to the old Yankee Stadium in 2008.  I thought it was cool because it recognized the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry through the years at Yankee Stadium.  While I'm not a fan of either team, I do respect the history behind the rivalry, so I had to buy the pin.

Pin #120: 1993 World Series

In 1993, my favorite team, the Philadelphia Phillies, made a run to the World Series.  I was so excited.  This was the first time that one of my teams was playing for a championship.  Of course, growing up in California, and being in seventh grade, I got teased mercilessly when they lost.  I still don't understand why.  It's not like I went to school with a bunch of Blue Jays fans.  Anyway, I didn't get to actually go to a game in this Series, but someone in my family, my uncle I think, bought this pin for me.  This was my first World Series pin, and I've been lucky enough to acquire a few more.  You'll see those later in the blog.

Pin #119: Dolphin

I remember exactly where and when I bought this pin.  I was on a family vacation in Orlando in 1994 (Holy cow, that was 20 years ago!).  We went to Sea World and while enjoying our day at the park, a typical Florida thunderstorm struck.  We all rushed for cover inside of a gift shop.  There were a lot of other people who had the same idea as the gift shop was excessively crowded.  Since we were essentially stuck in the store, we all did some shopping.  I found this pin and fell in love.  I was in a stage of my life where I wanted to be a dolphin trainer, so this was perfect.  Plus, the color was awesome.  To this day I still really love this pin.  So I guess it's a good thing that the storm stranded us in the store, or I may never have found it.  And after about an hour of waiting for the storm to end, we decided to just buy some ponchos and call it a day.  This was the beginning of the poncho adventures that my family had.  If you want more details about that, please send me a message and I would be happy to share.

Pin #118: More Izzy

Yet another Izzy pin from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  This one has Izzy looking more happy and less drunk.  But it's still kind of a blah pin.  The stars in the eyes is a nice touch, though.

Pin #117: Mendenhall Glacier

This is a pin from the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska.  It doesn't actually show the glacier, but has a black bear instead.  That's cool.  I like bears.  I didn't buy this pin because I've never been to Alaska.  A bunch of my family went, though, a few years back, and they brought me back a few pins.  This was one of them.

Pin #116: Queen Amidala

I believe this pin came with either a DVD or poster I ordered.  I can't remember what exactly, though.  I know I didn't buy it on its own, though, because I remember being excited that I essentially got a free pin.  It features Queen Amidala, played by my future wife, Natalie Portman, in her full regal attire.  It's not my favorite Star Wars pin, but I still like it.