As a way to get people excited for the 2011 season, the Atlanta Braves announced the return of Bobblehead Nights. There were three slated for the year — one for young gun Jason Heyward; one for newly acquired, yet-to-play Dan Uggla; and one for Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. For the last fellow, it was one of the many ways to honor and celebrate the longtime Brave, whose storied career seemed increasingly close to its end.

Unfortunately for the 38,000-plus that showed up to Turner Field for Chipper Jones Bobblehead Night on July 28, their man wasn't even in the starting lineup. There are many awkward things in sports fandom, but a stadium full of people shaking a wobbly doll while the headsake is sitting in the dugout has got to be up there. The seventh inning began like the others — with no Chipper — but with one out and a man on first, a pinch hitter approached home plate to replace relief pitcher Anthony Varvaro.

It was Chipper Jones. Chip was about to take part in a baseball game on Chipper Jones Bobblehead Night. This was amazing.

We went there, in an attempt to witness History.

We sat in a seemingly endless queue of cars on Elysian Park Avenue on Saturday, stuck in the kind of L.A. traffic that Angelenos never tire of complaining about and everyone else never tires of hearing about (you guys love it, right? We knew it!), listening to Vin Scully tick off the outs, afraid that we'd experience The First At-Bat via radio, next to an enormous black pickup truck flying a Lakers flag big enough to stake an eventual claim in Planet Kobe. Had this sellout crowd actually mobilized for the Chosen One's major league debut? Were this many Dodgers fans lining up for the coincidental celebration of Strasmas? Or was it the lure of Double-Bobblehead Night, with 54,000-plus hoping to get their greedy hands on the Chang-and-Eng-esque abobblemination that was the conjoined Don Drysdale–Maury Wills collectible on offer at the gate? Baseball fans love them some bobbleheads, even more than their scorecards and inflatable mini-bats. Trust us, it was the bobbleheads.