By the time the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves began a baseball game Thursday, fans inside Nationals Park had already seen most of an entertaining Philadelphia Phillies-Pittsburgh Pirates game, if they were paying attention, being broadcast on the Jumbotron.
Depending where they were sitting, they saw an illegal fireworks show happening near the ballpark, too.
On an essentially clear July night, fans who stayed watched a non-wet tarp cover the field and then the same tarp taken off, still just as dry.
But finally — finally — after a mostly rainless rain delay of three hours and five minutes, the Nationals and the Braves played, resulting in a 5-2 Nationals loss.