Opening Day – Two Thousand and Seven
Walking up the concourse and seeing the green grass for the first time realizing not a single ball has been thrown on the perfectly manicured field. The first pitch, the crack of the bat and the optimism felt by millions upon millions of fans from city to city and coast to coast….it must Opening Day. Every team, every player and every fan receives a fresh start, a clean slate, last season is a distant memory and it has been replaced by a new hope and new dreams for the season that lie ahead…. 
How does the saying go? Baseball is as American as apple pie and Chevrolet and to quote Field of Dreams, it has stood the test of time….this is our passion and our past time, simply put….it is baseball. This is the same game our grandfathers passed down to our fathers that in turn passed the game onto us. This is the game that is debated over Thanksgiving dinner, discussed at length at family outings and reunions and talked about by the water cooler with co-workers and business associates. This is the game we all played as children and still follow to this day with the same enthusiasm as the 12-year old we used to see in the mirror.
Baseball is different from any other sport, it takes commitment and dedication and for a Cubs fan, patience. But today is different, today is special, today is Opening Day, it is like nothing else in all of professional sports. Every team is in first place and every fan thinks their team can win it all and be the only one left standing at the end of October.
Baseball is full of tradition and characters from the great Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige to Ryne Sandberg. Phrases and words from the game are a part of everyday vocabulary and accepted in every walk of life. This game has transcended generations and cultures and has broken down barriers. The books fill our offices, the movies fill our armoires and the names and numbers fill what is left of our memory banks. This is our sport….this is baseball.
So grab your peanuts and crackerjack, add “Centerfield” to your iPod, throw in your copy of “Boys of Zimmer” and get ready for the marathon, after all it is time for baseball….Chicago Cubs baseball.