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Attendant flies around Travs' games Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Back-and-forth flights between Charlotte and Little Rock with overnights in Arkansas is heaven for a flight attendant with a fondness for the Arkansas Travelers. Based in Charlotte, 35-year-old Jennifer has eight years with U.S. Airways and uses that seniority when the schedules are posted for bids on the 15th of each month. So does her friend, Scott, a pilot with the airline for more than 10 years. Flight crews can opt for one-day trips to four-day trips, but here's what Jennifer and Scott do to see three games at Dickey-Stephens Park: -Day one, Flight 2207, leave Charlotte at 9:35 a.m., arrive in Little Rock at 10:29 local time. Overnight at the Wyndham across Willow Street from the left field berm. -Day two, Flight 2294, leave Little Rock at 6:05 a.m. and arrive in Charlotte at 8:56 a.m. Return on Flight 2007. -Day three, repeat day two. "Usually, we are in three different cities each night," she said. "But when I see triple LIT overnights, I know that is the schedule for me." Central Arkansas has plenty to offer, but keep in mind that her employer flies to more than 50 cities, including nifty destinations such as Panama City, Fla., Savannah, Ga., New Orleans, Memphis and New York. The love affair with the Travelers began by happenstance last spring "when we saw the beautiful stadium next to our hotel ... we knew we had to get an overnight on a game night." The first time was June 24 - Jennifer is certain because she is a ticket saver. "It was a Sunday night game, which we love because the kids run the bases and it is so much fun to watch!" she said. That night, there was a clinic for kids sponsored by the Jim Elder Good Sport Fund and she took the time to read up on the Travelers' former play-by-play announcer. Moved, she donated $30 to the fund and that contribution opened the door to correspondence via e-mail. Jennifer and Scott are from Akron and call themselves big fans of sports in Ohio - Buckeyes, Indians and Browns. He also likes the Cavaliers, but she's not an NBA fan. She never played sports and says Scott turned her onto the kick of competition. "He always says sports are the best reality show," she said. They've seen three Travelers' games this year and will be in town for a three-game series against Frisco at the end of the month. The overnights in Little Rock also alerted them to the NCAA Tournament at Alltel and they secured that Sunday night stay in March. She announced on the flight that they were in the market for tickets, but there were no sellers and they wound up buying them from a scalper near the arena. She has three Travs' shirts and he has two. "We really feel like locals when we go," she said. At a game in May, one of the ushers recognized her and remembered that she worked for U.S. Air. "Scott and I began joking about buying the team some day, and I am now saving my spare change every day in a baseball bank!" she said. "I only recently found out that the team is community owned (so cool!), so I am not sure what that means for me, but I will figure something out." She has a Travs' blanket on her couch in Charlotte and she recently acquired a team photo that she framed and put on the wall behind the couch. "I hope they don't mind sharing wall space with my Ohio State football championship photo and a Grady Sizemore (Indians) photo," she said. Oh, the screen saver on her phone is a picture of Dickey-Stephens. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
