For the Love of the Game

Ahhh, the crack of the bat,the pristine playing field,the feeling of anticipation as you walk through the gate and proceed to the appointed seat that is stamped on the ticket you purchased months in advance.Then the sight of the stadium,layed out before you like a red carpet event,welcoming you,drawing you,pulling you to that awe inspiring moment that is similar to walking up to the edge of a mountain cliff and the view takes your breath away.Then you see them,glowing white uniforms resplendant in the afternoon sun,your home team,streatching,running,taking batting practice,snagging grounders and a few pop flies(...and I think to myself,"yes there is definately something about a man in uniform....")    You stand there for a moment,teetering at the edge of the step just taking it all in,breathing deep all the aromas of........Baseball.

What a thrill it is to experience this wonderful pastime in a personal yet public way.enough of the press reports(bad press that is),the drug controversies,the personal mistakes that so-and-so might have made,the CONSTANT bickering and arguing back and forth on the radio and t.v. sports stations about who is best for this and why did that manager do that and OMG!!we lost a game!!!what are we gonna do??Gloom Despair and Agony...........KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!

Baseball has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.The youngest and only girl of 5 children,I have wonderful yet vague memories of watching my older brothers play ball in little league,or for school.My dad would come home from work where he would proceed to the garage to do .....whatever it was he did out there all the while listening to Ernie Harwell as "The Voice of Baseball"on his little radio kept up in the window sill (that we were never aloud to change the station of mind you).

I myself began playing softball in little league,in 6th grade and continued to play for 26 years.I remember endless games of backyard ball in various yards throughout the neighborhood,using various forms of debri for bases.But what a treat it was to catch the occasional ballgame on t.v. and actually sit down together with family and/or friends to watch a game.

You know when you are truly hooked on the game when winning and/or losing takes a back seat to just plain, good, well played, fundamental baseball.When someone from the other team makes a phenominal,seemingly impossible play,you cheer for them at that moment giving credit where credit is due.Or you send a prayer up in that bone chilling moment when possible serious injury is hanging in the air...sighing in relief and sending a cheer of encouragement when someone gets up and walks off an injury on their own accord.

I did'nt actually experience the whole stadium effect until I was about 19 or 20.My husband and I,along with my brother in-law and two of our friends went to what was my first," in stadium" game.I was extremely pregnant with our first baby and not moving fast enough for the guys.But they were all very considerate of my condition,and one of them actually snagged a foul ball hit very near to where I was sitting.What a great day that was,I remember the weather was warm,the walk from the car was long,and the food smelled incredible(magnified I'm sure by pregnancy),and to be completely honest,I can't remember if we won or not,I just remember knowing that I wanted to do it again as often as possible!!

My husband and I have quite a history with the Detroit Tigers "83" team.We(Detroit)were in the playoffs.It was late September and we(my hubby and I) were to become man and wife on Sept.23rd.at around 6pm.A couple of weeks prior to the wedding,my man said to me"by the way,hang on to your house key.Dont give it to anyone while we are gone"( Honeymoon).So I agreed and we counted down the days to our wedding day.Our entire wedding party minus two,were all ball players in our own rights,and all us girls were paranoid about sliding,at the risk of scraping up our legs so close to the wedd.day.  the night of the rehearsal, the girls had a game on one side of town while the guys had a game on the other side.We congregated at the church when our games were done,in our ball uniforms,had the rehearsal,then met in the back room and ate.Our dinner consisted of.....a giant 6 ft. sub,chips and pop.And someone had the forsight to bring a transister radio so we could listen to the Tigers game.       The next day dawned beautiful! A warm early fall day,thoughts of becoming someones wife filled me with wonder,and we set out to prepare for the big night. The wedding was wonderful,went off without any major snags or hang-ups and we were blissfully celebrating life with friends and family.   After the reception began to wind down,my new hubby and I piled into his car and off we went to our new home to change our clothes and head for the hotel.............during this ride home my husband turned to me and said"we will have to use your key,cause I gave mine to my mom and dad so they can keep an eye on the house."..............(you know that aweful feeling in the pit of your stomache you get when you've done something really stupid!!!!??)I turned and said to him"I gave my key to MY mom.".........initiate plan B!  My new inlaws lived three houses away,we will stop there and call the church and have someone bring us a key,.......in the mean time,We  find all the male half of our wedding party(minus one)still in their tux's,sitting in my in-laws living room at approximently10:30p.m.(it may have been later) watching......(you guessed it)The Detroit Tigers,baseball game.We did'nt make it to the hotel until about 3am the next morning,So I guess you could say,I spent the first nite of my honeymoon with a room full of men and the Detroit Tigers.  Dont worry,my hubby and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year and are happier and more in love with each other than ever!!! and we still spend the occasional anniversary,at a hotel curled up together watching a ballgame or two.

Now we enjoy watching our youngest play,of course its with stars in our eyes and the hope that some day we will see him in that stadium wearing that crisp white uniform with the old english "D" and I will forever remember all the events and people that helped me to fall forever in love with this great game of baseball.

Remember..."Life is too short to be ornery!!" get out and go to a game.Better yet take a young friend or your father or your mother or someone who who can recognise there is more to life than work  and  a comfy lazy-boy chair.

So at the onset of winter and football season drags on....(dont get me started on that), and the unseen butterfly glimpse of spring training begins to blossom in your heart and all you can think about is getting to Lakeland any way possible,and you begin to itemize all your belongings to sell in order to go,you tally up your sacrifices and heave a huge sigh,close your eyes and repeat after me......."For the Love of the Game......"