In the ongoing battle between baseball and the modern stadium, baseball scored a victory Sunday night. It was a nail-biter.

There were many in Washington comfortably at home that cold March evening who may have wished they were in Nationals Park by the time Ryan Zimmerman came to bat in the bottom of the ninth.

I was there with my 7-year-old son.

Nationals Park is the new $600-million-plus stadium that taxpayers built less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol.

Some irresistible force drove me there that night. I had criticized the very concept of a new tax-funded baseball stadium in Washington, D.C. My view was that the city already had a ballpark that boasted many features the new park would not: very cheap seats, plentiful parking and a mortgage that was paid off.

Nonetheless, I tried to get seats for opening night. At first, the Washington Nationals made tickets available only to those who purchased season-ticket plans. That left me out.

Then they started selling single-game ticket, including opening day. I tried to buy some through the team Website, but was too late. (I did get tickets to some other games).

I then registered for an online lottery the team conducted for the chance to buy opening-day tickets. I lost -- and I abandoned all hope.

But, then, two day before the event, the Nats sent me an urgent email: "Congratulations! You have been selected for an exclusive second chance opportunity to purchase up to two (2) tickets for the Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves Opening Night game on Sunday, March 30, 2008."

The email included a special "one-time" code word. If I clicked on the "Buy Tickets" link embedded in the email and typed the code word correctly into the right place quickly enough, I might be in luck. Continued...