Attack of the 8-foot goldeye

Granted, he doesn't look like a goldeye, which is a kind of local fish, but that's Goldie, the mascot for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. And that's the baseball game I was at Saturday night. Enjoying the four-dollar "grass berm" seats as the Calgary Vipers fileted the Goldeyes in a 4-2 nail-biter (scale-biter?).

The Goldeyes are part of the eight-team Northern League, which includes teams from the States, such as the Kansas City T-Bones and the Joliet Jackhammers, and let me tell you, going to a game is a helluva good time for the whole family. First, it's cheap. Second, its attended by enthusiastic fans (the 6,000-or-so-seat Canwest Global Park routinely sells out). Third, the train tracks run right behind the stadium, so every ten minutes a train rumbles by (you can just barely can make out the bridge and a passing train in the background of the photo above). Fourth, and most importantly, plenty of free stuff gets tossed into the crowd -- chips, licorice, t-shirts... And every time someone comes around lobbing goodies, all the kids rush toward the thrower like starving refugees rushing toward a U.N. food drop. Highly entertaining.

And then there's the occasional middle-aged drunk man who thinks he's still a frat boy, heckling the opposing pitchers as they warm up. "Hey, 23! What's your problem?! Hey, 34! Nice mullet! What's your problem?!" After the fourth or fifth "Hey, __, what's your problem!" from the guy, even the little kids start turning around to tell him to shut up. And then the beleaguered dad looking after his four kids starts telling them to shut up.

Didn't catch any fly balls, but I did catch a package of tasty licorice, which I enjoyed with my perogies (another bonus of seeing a ballgame in the Peg -- perogies for sale at the stadium). And some great fireworks capped off the night. Best four dollars I've ever spent.

For you keeners out there, here's part of the "goldeye" entry from The Canadian Encyclopedia:

Goldeye flesh when freshly caught is undesirable due to its poor taste and quality. As early as 1890 it was found smoking significantly improved its taste. After 1911 the market for smoked goldeye increased rapidly because it was a new product that could be caught and processed in large numbers. Lake WINNIPEG was the largest commercial producer. By the 1930s overfishing nearly wiped out stocks; it took decades for them to recover.

The main fishery is now centered in the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The fish are processed almost exclusively in Winnipeg, Man, where they are gutted, lightly brined, dyed an orange-red colour and smoked over oak fires. They are marketed as whole processed fish under the name "Winnipeg goldeye" and are considered a gourmet item. Goldeye are considered sport fish in some regions, especially central Canada where they are sought after for home smoking. The small size of goldeye limits their appeal as a sport fish in other regions.

From "undesirable" to "gourmet". It's like Queer Eye for the Goldeye, huh?