I grew up in a sports family. My dad played every sport imaginable in high school until he blew out his knee. My mom's dad was the voice of the Atlanta Falcons the first ten years they were a franchise. And I was the only girl with two brothers who both loved sports. I actually played t-ball when I was little but that was as far as my baseball experiences went personally. When I was a kid, I used to wish that I had been born a boy so that I could be a major league baseball player. :) But that is not how God made me, so I did the next best thing...I learned the game.
My brothers both played baseball growing up, and as we were a family that supported one another, that meant we all grew up at the little league field. I spent more hours, days, weeks and years there than I could count. I figured if I was going to have to be there, I might as well get paid, so I took the classes and was trained as an official scorekeeper. And it was there that I fell in love with the game.
A lot of people think baseball is really boring. It's actually not. There is so much strategy and thought and analysis that goes into each game. When you know the game, you see much more than what is happening on the field, and it's really fun. My brothers and I grew up as Braves fans. We used to go to games in the 80's when they were absolutely horrible. You'd pay $5 and everyone would sit behind home plate because no one would be at the game. It was a bonus if they won the game - just being there was magical.
So as a true fan, it was an amazing experience for them to win the pennant in 1991. Baseball fever took over Atlanta, and when we lost the World Series in seven games, you would have thought we won. They had a parade for the team, and my mom let us skip school and took us to the parade in Atlanta. I was in 7th grade at the time.
My favorite way to watch a game in person is with headphones on so I can hear the announcers. There is nothing like it! For those of you who go to games with me and I don't do this, you should feel honored. :)
I've never been a huge superstar kind of person. I love the team as a whole. And this year's Braves team has been one of my favorites. It was Bobby Cox's last year before retirement, and this team was so much fun to be a part of as a fan. There were many dramatic moments in the season and if we hadn't had so many injuries, who knows what would have happened. But we did, and the season is over, and with it, the end of an era. I can't remember a Braves team without Bobby Cox as the manager. It'll be weird to start next season with someone else. I wish him the best as he moves forward in life.
I know a lot of people don't understand my love of this sport. I'm okay with that. And yes, I know there are a lot more important things going on in the world than baseball. But for today, I'm celebrating an amazing year, a fantastic team, a great manager, and what it means to be a fan. And when spring training starts down here in February....I'll be there. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment