As depressing as some of my recent 'thoughts' have been, today I am reminded of how good the world is. How the promise of Spring is in the air. Daylight savings time is coming this Sunday. But most importantly, BASEBALL STARTS NEXT WEEK!
Now, if you have even an inkling of how excited I am, you might also think I'm either a "jock" or some stereotypical-sports-nut. I assure you NEITHER is true. Throughout High School I loathed sports and the kids that went-out for them. After I enlisted, I still couldn't have cared less. But a funny thing happened to increase my appreciation of both football and baseball (although, at the time, there was nowhere to go but up!). You see, I was living in "The South." (Montgomery, Alabama to be precise. First capital of the Confederacy. You don't get much more "South" geographically OR politically). And the people there care A WHOLE LOT about football. Mostly college football. No, make that JUST college football. Just about the first question you'd hear when people found out you were recently moved was "Are you for Auburn? Or Alabama?" We lived there while Paul "Bear" Bryant was still alive. You may have heard of this "Most Winningest" coach. I just said "Bear who?".
But as time went on, we began to realize that there was more going on than just a game. It turns out that the emotions around sports can bring people together. Sometimes even people with very little in common. People could overlook skin color or which church you belong (or don't) to as long as you were rooting for the same team. And even if you were for the "wrong" team, it didn't seem to matter too much. It was either "We really beat you guys last year, huh?" Or else, "Well, you may have beat us, but I think it'll be different NEXT year." (that's why they FIRE coaches who lose two or three times to their rival).
We left Alabama, but we still follow Auburn football. In fact, just last night I programmed my Tivo to search for Auburn football games whenever they come on, and to record them. But then I met a man named Bob Lind, and he opened my eyes to Baseball. Like football in the South, there's a LOT more going on with Baseball than just a bunch of guys trying to best each other. In fact, I think baseball is much better than football with regards to the non-sporting aspects. Sure, there are more "tailgating" parties in Auburn than I've ever seen in any baseball parkinglot. But baseball teams play about 160 games per season, and that's a LOT of chances to go out and enjoy. Bob started taking me to AAA ball games in San Jose while I was working up there one summer. (AAA is the league just below the Majors. There are two types of players there; those hoping to get to the Majors, and those hoping to get BACK to the Majors.) AAA-ball is a lot different from the Majors in just one way, it's smaller. You could literally reach out and touch the players. The VERY WORST seats in a AAA park are better than the MOST EXPENSIVE seats in a Major league park. When I'm watching a game in the minors, I feel like I'm at a family game. The "feeling" is closer and more personal.
BUT the Majors are truly a sight to behold. Each time I climb the hill and walk into Dodger Field I get a feeling that's hard to describe. Sorta giddy excitement and "wonderment" at the fact that I'm actually THERE, AT THE GAME! I think, "Man! Isn't this amazing? Why did I wait?" I've never had a bad day at a ball game. I'm not even sure it's technically possible. I always bring the family, even though my wife isn't tuned into the "Zen" of the experience and sometimes reads while we're there. That doesn't matter, because we're all there, together. The peanuts taste better in Dodger Stadium than they do at home (even though I buy them at the game and take them home with me.) There's just something magical about it. And it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with winning or losing. In baseball we have a special song that we ALL sing during a break called "The 7th inning stretch" and one line says "Root, Root, ROOT for the home team. If they don't win, it's a shame." And that pretty much sums it up. We won't wait in the parking lot to "kill" anyone. We're happy to be there, in the sun or the cool California evenings, just being families.
If you haven't been to a ballgame in a while (or ever), think about taking your family. If you don't have a family readily available, go with some people from the office. It's not like being in a sportsbar, it's a very human experience. One which I can hardly wait to experience again!