For a while there, hope was in the air on Opening Day at Petco Park. So were plumes of barbecue smoke, man-cave whiffs of grilling burgers and the slight bittersweet tang of slow-roasted caution. But mostly hope, in plumes, billows and heaps.
In those bucolic hours before the Padres lost Monday’s game to the Dodgers by a nightmare score of 15-0, the fans in Padres Nation were all about clean slates, new beginnings and traditions too good to sacrifice to the whims of the scoreboard.
“We’re homegrown, diehard fans for life,” said Victor Parra of Chula Vista, who was hanging out with his family in the Tailgate Park parking lot before the game.