By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Opening Day in Cincinnati today began as it always does - lots of excitement amid a sea of red hats and shirts. But this year, there was something extra to celebrate - the opening of the new $280 million riverfront home for the city's beloved Cincinnati Reds.

PHOTO GALLERIES

• The Game • The Parade

"Opening Day is always special in this town, but having a beautiful new ballpark makes it that much better," said former Reds manager Sparky Anderson, the leader of the "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s, early Monday.

Hours before the scheduled 4:10 p.m. game time, hundreds of fans milled around Fountain Square looking for good spots to see the parade. There were scores of giveaways, too, for fans. Corporate booths on the square offered everything from red plastic megaphones to disposable cameras.

A crowd gathered around the picture windows on the ground floor of the Dubois Tower to watch the broadcast of WKRC-TV's "Good Morning Cincinnati show," and to wave at the television station's Hall of Fame guests - Anderson, manager of the "Big Red Machine" and catcher Johnny Bench.

Later Anderson - wearing a "Big Red Machine" baseball jacket - walked among the fans signing autographs and talking baseball.

"I've always said there are no better fans in all of baseball than there are right here," Anderson said. "You haven't played big league ball until you've been a Cincinnati Red."

Jim and Deborah Koester of Newport showed up on Fountain Square at 8:30 a.m. to stake out a first-rate location to watch the Findlay Market Parade - atop the ledge on the south side of Fountain Square, directly across from the front doors of the Westin Hotel.

"We came down late last year and got crowded out," Koester said. "This year, we weren't taking any chances."

Being early birds netted them a prime seat, but there was a price to pay - four hours sitting outside on a windy, frigid morning before the first float passes. They were bundled in parkas and had a stack of blankets handy.

The Koesters didn't have tickets to the Opening Day game against the Pirates, but they didn't care - there are at least 81 more chances this season to see the Great American Ball Park.

"Today's about the hoopla, the parade, the celebration," Koester said. "We can go to a game anytime."

On the streets around Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine Monday morning, organizers of the 84th annual parade hustled to get the hundreds of entries in order and ready to roll down Race Street by the noon starting time.

Float teams were putting the finishing touches on their entries; high school bands practiced and fans lined up to have their pictures taken with the winner of Findlay Market's Pete Rose look-alike contest.

Several floats created by artists of the Cincinnati ArtWorks program were made entirely out of Louisville Slugger baseball bats.

"This is really fun," said Tamara Harkavy, executive director of ArtWorks. "I have never done an Opening Day before. This is a great way for some of our new art works to be displayed."

James Robinson of Over-the-Rhine was celebrating his 62nd birthday Monday by staking out a spot on Race Street to watch the parade.

"This is a great birthday gift," Robinson said. "A new stadium and the parade is always good."

Some baseball fans went to extraordinary lengths to be at the first official game played at the Reds new ballpark.

Jim Aalderink of Byron Center, Mich., has made a pilgrimage around America over the past 20 years, attending the opening and closing of baseball parks.

He was last here on Sept. 22, when the Reds closed Cinergy Field in a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. This morning, he was on Fountain Square with his ticket to today's game. Stitched on his baseball jacket were the names of all the parks where he has attended the opening game - 20 in all.

"I hear this is a pretty nice ball park," Aalderink said. "I can't wait to see it."