Friday Night Phillies

• Mets: 7
• Phillies: 4
• Sold: 240 beers, 6 sodas

The difference between vending at desolate Nationals Park and on Friday night in Philadelphia with the Mets in town couldn't be greater. DC is an indifferent baseball newbie, Philly nurturing (if 'nuturance' can be a capability applied to Philadelphians) a 120+ year relationship with a team they alternately love and jeer. Washingtonians tend to order in singles, then sip; the Philly crowd orders multiples, then orders more. Citizen's Bank is jammed on most weekend games, standing room only crowds lining the lower bowl, and ordering plenty of beer.

I'm assigned to sell Coors Lite in Philly, in a restrictive seniority arrangement that has Coors on the middle road above lowly Bud Light -- and even worse Budweiser regular -- and below the stadium's real moneymaker: Miller Lite. It's unusual that Miller would be the big seller, since Bud is the stadium's sponsor, but it's that sponsorship that I think makes the Miller vend so well; with the concessions stands offering plenty of Bud and almost no Miller, the vendors become the main distributors of the stuff. In some ways, with the largest contingent of vendors actively marketing Miller -- calling it out loudly directly to the people, where the mass of potential beer-buyers can witness it being sold in quantity, and herd buying mentality can take hold -- I think Miller has the better sponsorship deal of the two.

Tonight was decent: a little over nine cases sold (with the other half stowed away in the room 205 freezer for sale tomorrow), and a pocketful of tips for my trouble. I'm hoping tomorrow's even better.