America's Favorite Pasttime!

It is officially baseball season. Now it may make me a weird chick to be excited enough to write a blog about that, but seriously, I love this sport. When I was a kid, I danced and my brother played baseball...year round (his son's baby shower was even baseball themed, pictured below). That meant that I spent A LOT of time at baseball fields.

There were naturally phases to my affection for baseball. Only for about one fall-ball season did I hate it when I was about 11 years old. Prior to that it was like an extended recess for me with all of the other siblings running around. After that age, there was an appreciation for the sport itself and the guys who played it (and those pants!): Sam Carlton (catcher & teammate/friend of my brothers), Aubrey Pruitt (catcher of middle school team), Brady Anderson (#9 left fielder of Orioles), Chipper Jones (of course) and good ol' Javy Lopez! (#8 catcher for Braves). I realize those stats may no longer be true, but that is what they were when I was interested in them.

At this point in my life, I just love the game. All of it. I still love those uniforms, especially home whites with short pants and the socks showing. I love the actually game and watching it. I love that the season starting means Spring is right around the corner. I love that it is a great way to spend time with friends outside. I love the movie Bull Durham. I love that for those few hours, most of the people in that stadium can all forget their differences, come together and cheer on their team. And I love that, at least at Durham Bulls & UNC games, the fans don't get in fights.

This year I'll be missing the Durham Bulls season because of my move to the beach. Don't feel too bad for me, I'll be enjoying the ocean. One thing I will miss though is there daytime home games. I used to bring my lunch at eat at my desk on those days so that I could spend my hour of lunch at the game. I'd walk over, pay my $8, and watch an hour of baseball. That did make it difficult to go back some days, but it was worth it. I'm sure I'll catch a Pelicans game or two and maybe even a Coastal Carolina game, but I will certainly miss my home teams!

This past weekend I celebrated the opening of the season with Melanie, Kara, and the UNCC 49ers. Both Mel and Kara went there and a friend of ours is a coach for the team. So I wore my green, clapped for the home team, and was excited to see them sweep their opening weekend.

 

So Happy Baseball Season Everyone!! I hope my Heels and the Niners make it to Omaha and I hope the Bulls get to win a championship at home!!