The first pitch, the crack of the bat, and the optimism felt by millions of fans from city to city and coast to coast … it must be Opening Day.
Opening Day is like no other on the calendar and the feeling felt on the first day of a baseball season is hard to explain to those that do not follow the game with the same passion as we have for our entire lives. Baseball is our passion and it is our pastime. It is the game our grandfather taught to our father that in turn taught the game to us. This is the game we debate on the coldest of winter days and cheer on the hottest summer night. This is the game we all played as children and still follow as the same wide-eyed 10-year old that we haven’t seen in the mirror in more days that we care to remember.
Baseball is full of tradition, colorful characters and stories that have in some cases become urban legends. Baseball transcends generations and cultures and has broken down barriers. Phrases and words from America’s Pastime are part of everyday vocabulary and accepted in every walk of life. The books fill our offices, the movies fill our armoires and the game’s names and numbers fill what is left in our memory banks. This is our sport … this is baseball.
So grab your peanuts and crackerjack, maybe a dog or a brat and or course, a cold one. Dust off the old 45 of Centerfield, read your son or daughter Casey at the Bat, throw in your copy of Boys of Zimmer and get ready for the marathon …
It’s time for baseball. It’s time to root for the Cubs. It is Opening Day …
PLAY BALL!