What It's Like to Be in the Stands at a World Series Game

This PEOPLE editor was in the stands — and literally on the field — during Game 3 of the 2021 World Series last month

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Published on November 17, 2021 07:21PM EST

It's been a few weeks since the Atlanta Braves ended a nearly 30-year World Series drought with a victory over the Houston Astros, but for this PEOPLE senior news editor, the excitement of the MLB championship hasn't worn off.

I had a whirlwind, 24-hour trip to Game 3 of the 2021 Series last month as part of my coverage of Mastercard's Home Team Advantage winners and the championship as PEOPLE's sports editor.

I've grown up going to baseball games — blessed with a Triple-A, Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate team in my hometown — and now, as a New York resident, have been to my share of MLB match-ups at my local stadiums. But being at a World Series game? An entirely different experience.

Atlanta's Truist Park, which was home to Game 3, has everything a baseball fan could want from an MLB stadium: Waffle House, Dippin' Dots and endless access to those tasty cocktails in a can. (Food is always the priority.)

Arriving early to the stadium as part of the Mastercard experience, there was already a buzz in the air. Despite the chilly, out-of-season temperature and constant drizzle, the Atlanta fans had shown up in droves — clad in Braves' gear and their now-signature pearl necklaces. Many milled around the stadium, which is surrounded by hotels and, on one side, a courtyard with a giant screen that played game footage for those without tickets.

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Mastercard's Home Team Advantage program allowed three small business owners to throw out the game's first pitch (in addition to a $10,000 grant, a business consultation with Mastercard experts, a Mastercard Digital Doors™ toolkit and local marketing support), so hours before the real action kicked off, we were able to walk onto the field and hang in the stadium's basement behind the dugout. It was down there that we spied the Astros' family members being escorted to their seats, and even spied a few members of the opposing team heading in and out of their locker room.

I even looked on from the muddy field as Zac Brown from the Zac Brown Band sang the national anthem, before eventually taking my seat along the third baseline.

There were plenty of jeers toward the Astros — whose Series run was shrouded in controversy due to a 2017 cheating scandal — including two men behind me that screamed "Houston is the Newark of the South." (A dig that was especially humorous to this New Yorker.)

As the gross weather persisted — and I retreated under cover to wait over an hour for some World Series merch, after getting a debit card from one of the stadium's impressive Mastercard reverse ATMs, which were implemented when the stadium went cashless due to COVID-19 — the energy didn't die down.

A seventh-inning stretch led by mascot Blooper was almost as loud as the Braves' fans' controversial tomahawk chop.

Eventually, as it seemed clear Braves had their second Series game victory in the bag, there wasn't the usual sporting event mass exodus during the final minutes. Fans had been waiting years for this moment and wanted to enjoy every minute.

So, six hours after first entering the stadium — and a little cold and damp — I headed back to my hotel a little more unbiased than I left it: root, root, rooting for the Bra-vos.