Shakedownsports.com

Ahh… after a couple of days it has finally set in. Baseball season is here. More so than any other sport, baseball elicits so many different emotions and memories. I first got into sports around the tender age of 8. This happened to be the summer or 1991, and the Atlanta Braves were poised to make history. A miracle season. Worst to first.

Wait; before you stop reading, this is not a diatribe about the greatness of the Braves. No, the importance of this summer is that this is when I fell in love with baseball. Falling asleep listening to Skip Carey and Don Sutton call a game. Running outside to my front lawn to see the fireworks over the stadium after a victory. Going to my first ball games with my dad, while he pointed out players and gave me history lessons about previous teams and players. I have been in love with the game ever since.

My enjoyment of baseball has evolved over the years. The strike of 1994 was devastating (hell, at least we got most of the season in). But then Big Mac and Slammy Sammy made us believe in the greatness of baseball again. And then steroids made us question everything we ever thought of the last 25 years. It has been a rollercoaster of an affair. But it is in affair that has pursued.

I still listen to baseball games on the radio, but now it is with a group of my buddies on a lazy and hot summer evening. Sitting by the pool, grilling some food. I still go to games, only now I can tailgate. I even make a point to see a game or two with the old man, just to hear him tell me stories of Ted Turner riding ostriches during 7th inning stretches in front of a paltry crowd at crappy old Fulton County Stadium.

So what I am trying to say is that baseball is not just an entertaining sport. It is a way of life. Watching opening day (or two or three) was not just about watching a game. All of a sudden I was filled with the anticipation of warm weather and a great summer. So baseball may have its problems, but it will always have a place in my heart.

1 Comment »