My All-Star Week Experience

The 2015 edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game took place on Tuesday, July 14, and in the end, the American League topped the National League by a score of 6-3. It was a fun game to watch, and it capped off an incredible week of baseball activities. I tried to soak up as much of the All-Star Game festivities as I could, and in this post, I will discuss what I was up to during All-Star week.

Things officially kicked off with the opening of the MLB All-Star Game FanFest on Friday. I went to it and was blown away by everything they had there. They had a lot of cool exhibits that dealt with not only the Cincinnati Reds but with some of the all-time greats to have ever played the sport of baseball. There were exhibits about the Negro League, women in baseball, and the baseball hall of fame. After the All-Star FanFest closed for the day, I went up to Fountain Square in the center of the city. Buildings and skywalks were decked out in All-Star decorations, and you could feel the excitement in Cincinnati building as the midsummer classic drew near. There was a concert at Fountain Square as the band, Saint Hotel, rocked the heart of downtown after a baseball themed fireworks display illuminated the night sky. It was a fantastic day and an excellent way to start All-Star week with a bang.

The next day I went to a celebrity softball game. It was not the official MLB Celebrity Softball Game. The one I went to was called the Celebrity Softball Challenge. It featured a lot of local celebrities playing softball for charity. The game featured Team Johnny Bench taking on Team Evander Holyfield. Players on the teams included a few members of the Cincinnati Bengals such as Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, a Cincinnati radio DJ named Meat, Tae Bo fitness guru Billy Blanks, and a few members of the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was a very entertaining game and you could tell that the celebrities were having fun. In the end, Team Bench destroyed Team Holyfield.

On Monday, the day of the Home Run Derby, I went back to the All-Star Game FanFest. The different booths and stations there were giving out a lot of free stuff, and I managed to pick up some really cool things for my sports memorabilia collection. I also got the autograph of Amos Otis, a former player of the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets among other teams. I also did the “Steal a Base Challenge” in which you race an MLB player on a screen. I chose to race Billy Hamilton and in the end, I beat him! I also went to the All-Star Game Block Party. There were games, a zip line, and an autograph session that featured former player and current co-host of the show “Intentional Talk,” Kevin Millar.

In the end, I found All-Star week to be a blast and now that the game is over and all the festivities of the midsummer classic are no longer in Cincinnati, I’m a little sad. This was the first time I had ever seen the city and the surrounding area come together and put on a spectacle for the rest of the nation to see and enjoy. Cincinnati truly shined in the national spotlight, and I cannot wait to see what happens the next time the MLB All-Star Game comes to the Queen City.

Check out pictures from All-Star week on the “Photos” page and keep an eye out for my trilogy of All-Star week vlogs!