Lasting Memories Made at Kansas City's All-Star Fanfest

Kansas City, Mo. - With tickets for Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium (20 minutes from my current apartment) being $300-$400 a pop, I figured it would be wise to take part in the midsummer classic another way.

Fanfest at the Kansas City Convention Center ended up being the perfect solution.

The All-Star Fanfest - essentially a massive baseball museum/theme park that set up in downtown Kansas City's Convention Center - made me feel like a 10-year-old kid again on Christmas (err, Hanukkah, sorry) morning.

I stepped into 450,000 square feet (no exaggeration; I looked this up!) of baseball tradition, past and present:

We thought we'd attend the event, open all day from Friday-Tuesday, after we got out of work on Friday night because of the discounted $15 tickets on that day only. As we walked up to the entrance, a random fan asked if we were attending Fanfest. After a quick confirmation, the fan simply handed us two free tickets and walked off. Talk about lucking out!

I decided to wear my Elvis Andrus shirt jersey since he's my favorite player and since he was selected as an All-Star this week. Accompanying the shirt was my ridiculous (and awesome) Rangers chain (pictured above) that I only break out for special occasions (another example: being in attendance for Rangers-Angels live in Arlington on May 13).

We spent two hours exploring the exhibition. There was so much to take in:

• Memorabilia stands with figurines spread out everywhere:

• An exhibit from the Baseball Hall of Fame, where I saw one of Sandy Koufax's game-worn jerseys on display, along with the historic sight of the night: A game-worn Babe Ruth jersey:

• Mock MLB locker rooms, where numerous players' name plates were set up as they would appear on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium:

• I even had the chance to put my poor baseball skills on display and throw a ball through a tire. Here's the video to prove it:

There also were baseball collector stations, which really took me back. Signed baseballs and trading cards all over the place. I got a Yu Darvish Bowman rookie card, and I purchased an Andrus Topps Heritage rookie card. I also came away with a 2012 All-Star program, along with a grey shirt that said 2012 All-Star Game: Kansas City, Mo.

The game was quite forgetful, with the NL securing home field advantage in the World Series for the third straight year with an 8-0 spanking, but the week surrounding the spectacle was unforgettable. Kansas City was electric the entire week, and I'll always be able to say I was living there to experience it first-hand.