Portland is not a hot place.  Summer is beautiful here (shhh, don't tell anyone), but it's only really hot for maybe a week.
One of those hot days was last Friday, when the temperature got up to 102.

I had tickets for the baseball game that night (our AAA Beavers), and had to decide whether to go.  Around here, the high temperature comes at 5:00, so it would still be hot during the game.

I eventually said, what the heck, it's going to be just as hot anywhere else.  I'll go.  (My friend KC had the other ticket, but couldn't go that night.)

In 95 degree heat, a crowd of maybe 1,000 people cheered on the Beavers.  The game was quick - nearly every pitch was called a strike, and a lot of first pitches were swung at.  That was to be expected on such a hot night, and I don't think anybody minded.

Looking around the park, it struck me that these were the hardcore fans.  If you're willing to sweat like that just to watch a ball game (just think what the players were going through), you're devoted.

There's talk every now and then about a big league team moving to Portland.  I hope it never happens.  I've been to a lot of major league parks, and minor league ball is far more charming.  The players seem to be trying harder, everything's on a smaller, more approachable scale, and the tickets are cheaper.

If you're a real baseball fan at heart, the game itself is the real attraction, not the teams or the league.   Now, if we could just get rid of the designated hitter rule...