Weather pending, tonight marks the home opener of the 2018 Missoula Osprey season.

Yes, we know – you listen to Jack FM first and foremost because of the music. But we’d like to think that community and entertainment in general are also high on your reasons for loving Jack, and whether you’re a sports fan or not we think there’s a lot of great reasons to celebrate summer baseball.

To honor that, we’ve outlined three non-baseball reasons to get excited about the Osprey:

1. The peanuts and Cracker Jacks

OK, so Cracker Jacks aren’t on the menu at the concession stands at Ogren Park Allegiance Field – but peanuts certainly are, as are all the other iconic ballpark greats: Hot dogs, ice cream and, yes, beer. To be honest, we’re really not all that much into peanuts during our normal daily lives. But nothing helps pass those stagnant times between innings, during pitching changes – heck, between pitches – like cracking open a tasty nut and tossing the shell onto the concrete floor.

By the way, if you’re partaking in Osprey baseball just for the food then we recommend you get familiar with their nightly specials. Taco Tuesdays, anyone?

2. The actual osprey

When peanuts have lost their luster, there’s plenty of entertainment to be found circling above the stadium. The team’s namesake osprey – a mom, dad and their young, we presume, are often as engaging as the action on the diamond. You can’t see them actually fish from this vantage point, but you can see them head out empty-beaked and return with a tasty treat for the family. Sometimes just watching their giant, crowd-sweeping circles is enough. Are you mad, bro?

The Missoula Osprey is the only minor league franchise with a live mascot living in its natural habitat at their stadium.

3. Those crazy kids

Unless you’re a hardcore baseball fan, the best seats in the house aren’t the ones adjacent to home plate – they’re deep out in left field, in the general admission “seating”. On a grassy knoll, you’ll hardly find a game where there aren’t a throng of baseball runts doing everything BUT watching the game. They’re rolling, they’re chasing, they’re doing what kids do best. Most importantly, they’re waiting for a foul ball to land in their territory – and when it happens, let’s just say you’d better stay clear.

The best part, though, is when the foul falls just outside the grassy zone and the outfielder manages to scoop it up. These kids will say just about anything to get hold of that ball; they’re certainly not too proud to beg.

For just $20 you can sign your young one up for the Ollie Osprey Kids Club and pick up two general admission tickets to every Sunday home game, plus a child’s T-shirt, a kids’ clinic and an exclusive autograph session with Osprey players.

Whether it’s the ballpark concessions, birdwatching or modern day anthropology you’re seeking, there’s plenty of non-baseball reasons to catch a Missoula Osprey game. What other event is as fun for families as it is with a date – to say nothing of the joys of watching baseball alone? Tune in all season long for ticket giveaways, and enjoy the best of Missoula summer before it slips away!

For more details, check out the Missoula Osprey’s 2018 schedule or pick up your tickets HERE.

-Zeke Campfield