Symptoms? Only one. But one is enough.
I'm sitting at home on sunday afternoon and I'm voluntarily... wait for it... I'm voluntarily watching baseball. Alone. By myself. Just me and the tv and a baseball game. And I'm doing it on purpose.
I should probably go to the emergency room.
Here's the thing. I don't HATE baseball. I just don't find much use for it. If tackling was allowed, I would be way more interested. And maybe they should wear short shorts. And tall socks. Yeeeaaa....
I mean, by all counts, I really should be a fan of baseball.
I love hanging out with friends. I love drinking beer. Ergo, I should love baseball.
But I don't. I love the before and after parts and I kind of just endure the middle bit when the baseball part is going on. It's usually made better when I have a group of friends that also want to wander the concourse and buy hats. THEN the middle bit is kind of fun (well, because then it's shopping).
So why I am sitting here on a Sunday afternoon watching baseball on purpose? Because I am a fan of sporting moments. Which makes me an indiscriminate fan of all sports. If something edge-of-your-seat exciting is going on in curling, I'm all in. And right now, the Brewers are killing it in the post season so of course, I'm all in.
I doubt this will make me a baseball fan though. If I was a fan, that would mean that I would have to spend 6 months waiting for this kind of excitement. I just don't have that sort of patience.
They spend 6 months playing games that don't really count. Ok, they kind of count but really, only a few of them count. I get that they need to win their division so of course the season matters but when you get 3 tries to hit a ball (not including the ball calls), 3 outs to an inning, 9 innings to a game and 4-5 games to a series, and what, 6 months of games before the post season even starts?? well, that's a LOT of moments that don't count.
In other sports, like football, skating and gymnastics, games that don't count are called PRACTICE.
You get your one shot a week, a month, maybe a year and if you blow, you're done. Now THAT'S a sporting moment.
But I'm not a total buttmunch when it comes to baseball. I always support local teams so because of that, I'm "technically" a huge brewers fan. I will proudly wear my brewers shirt, jacket and hat out and about. I will patiently listen when my friends freak out over the chance to meet Bernie Brewer and/or Ryan Braun and I will genuinely look forward to the chance to run through miller stadium during a 5k. It's just that I basically have no idea about anything brewer related. Oh, I do know that Ryan Braun is pretty hot and that he bites his nails in left field.
I also know that Prince Fielder is WAY overestimating his ability and asking for too much money and should just shut up already and stay in milwaukee.
So I know some stuff.
What I do know, more than anything, is that no one supports their teams like Wisconsin. A perfect example happened on Friday when I scored tickets to the game with some good friends (and by "scored" I mean, paid out the nose for). The gentleman behind us introduced himself the moment we sat down in front of him and his wife and quite seriously let us know that he would prefer it if we not boo the opposing team. "It's bush league", he said.
Wait - what?!! Really dude?? I thought booing the other team was half the fun! But I, and all of our neighbors, respected his wish (even though it was reaaalllly hard at times!) After the game, it actually felt good that we didn't boo at all - and I noticed how little milwaukee boos in comparison to what you hear from most other teams. Sure, things get heated and there is definitely some booing. But, for the most part, Milwaukee is a pretty decent place for a visiting team. We're just REALLY LOUD for our own team.
I went to the game on Friday because I knew, no matter win or lose, that it had the potential to be an EPIC sporting moment. So, of course, I had to be there. They played the Diamondbacks, fifth game in the series, do or die. Ahhhh!!! Drama!!! YES! FINALLY! And wow - it did not disappoint.
When the Brewers won, it was like a firecracker of noise was shot off. I found myself screaming so loud that I couldn't even hear myself anymore. The place exploded like nothing I've ever experienced. We were all jumping up and down, screaming, crying, hugging and high-fiving everyone around us. It was magical.
A true sporting moment.
It took 7 months to get there but I guess that's what made it all the sweeter. I wish I had the patience to endure that sort of wait but I'm afraid I never will. However, next season I think I may have to give baseball a bit more of a chance.
But first, I'm starting a petition to allow tackling in MLB.
No comments:
Post a Comment