You know it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen, and it still wows you.
Between business and pleasure, I’ve probably attended 500 or so baseball games, maybe more. I knew going into the 111th Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks, Alaska Tuesday that this would be unlike all the others, and it was. When the sun – which had been behind clouds most of the day – poked through around midnight for a golden sunset that seemed to last forever, that was the wow moment. The crowd buzzed and snapped cell phone photos. The bucket list box was checked off.
I had read about the Midnight Sun game many times. For 111 years, they’ve been playing it in Fairbanks, Alaska, where the sun stays up nearly 24 hours a day around the summer solstice. They don’t turn on the lights. In fact, the lights at Growden Park aren’t even hooked up.
The Alaska League was a pioneer in collegiate summer baseball, so players like Barry Bonds, Tom Seaver and Dave Winfield have come through town. In recent years, the Midnight Sun Game, hosted by the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, has caught national attention with ESPN coverage and more.
I got to the field around 3:30 p.m., a solid seven hours before game time. New Goldpanners president John Lohrke and staff members were busy with preparations. As the afternoon went on, I hung out with some Goldpanners fans tailgating in the picnic area outside the stadium. They’re regulars and they shared plenty of memories of the Midnight Sun game. Inside, I caught up with a fan who had been wanting to come up for the game for more than three decades, from the time he first heard about it.
After some pomp and circumstance and a ceremonial first pitch at 10:30 p.m., the Panners rose to the occasion for the big game, busting out to an 8-0 lead.
“We were due to play well,” Lohrke said.
When the gold of the sunset faded, though, the Midnight Sun Game turned into the Midnight Clouds Game. Twilight doesn’t fade in the two-plus hours when the sun is done, but the overcast skies made the light dimmer than usual, and umpires suspended the game. Fans booed and chanted “Let’s play ball.”
They would go on to finish the game the next night, with the Panners maintaining their lead over the final two innings.
It wasn’t ideal that a game built around endless light got suspended due to darkness, but for me, the moment of Midnight Sun had already happened.
I’ve been to many baseball games, but that one, I won’t forget.
Summer Nine is an upcoming book by Will Geoghegan about summer collegiate baseball, from Cape Cod to Alaska. Follow along here and on Twitter @Summer9Book