PickOff
12-20-2006, 10:45 PM
These are some of my thoughts on off-season baseball fans. I look forward to hearing some more.
The Off-Season Baseball Fan and the American Spirit
The off-season baseball fan is not your average sports junkie. In fact he may not be much of a sports fan at all, except for when it comes to the American Pastime. Why is this so? Well, at the risk of sounding sentimental, the answer is in the heart. Those that went to the ballpark often enough for the magic of a baseball game to enter into their being are the fans of which I speak. The fans that must stay attached to their favorite team all through the off-season, because they just can’t bear to put baseball too far from their hearts and minds.
One thing that sets baseball apart is the frequency of the opportunities to go to the ballpark; another is the affordability. Once there, the field too is simple and beautiful, with plenty of green and the expansive sky above. But it is the fellow fans that make the game so special. This is why it is the American Pastime. You root together, you sing together, you eat and drink and cheer. You happily rub shoulders with strangers and understand that we can get along and enjoy life together despite our differences. It is this togetherness that brings us back again and again and keeps us warm through the cold winter days and nights. It seeps into your heart, this game does.
On boards such as Redszone, some observers find the posts and discussion too positive or perhaps lacking the perspective of a ‘realist.’ That stands to reason, because the off-season baseball fans that make up these boards are, in fact, optimists at heart. They are the true believers in the American experiment; that people can come together, put aside their differences, and give one another the freedom to sing, eat, drink, and cheer.
So until someone takes me out to the ballpark come spring, there is no better company to keep than the keepers of the American spirit: the off-season baseball fan.
The Off-Season Baseball Fan and the American Spirit
The off-season baseball fan is not your average sports junkie. In fact he may not be much of a sports fan at all, except for when it comes to the American Pastime. Why is this so? Well, at the risk of sounding sentimental, the answer is in the heart. Those that went to the ballpark often enough for the magic of a baseball game to enter into their being are the fans of which I speak. The fans that must stay attached to their favorite team all through the off-season, because they just can’t bear to put baseball too far from their hearts and minds.
One thing that sets baseball apart is the frequency of the opportunities to go to the ballpark; another is the affordability. Once there, the field too is simple and beautiful, with plenty of green and the expansive sky above. But it is the fellow fans that make the game so special. This is why it is the American Pastime. You root together, you sing together, you eat and drink and cheer. You happily rub shoulders with strangers and understand that we can get along and enjoy life together despite our differences. It is this togetherness that brings us back again and again and keeps us warm through the cold winter days and nights. It seeps into your heart, this game does.
On boards such as Redszone, some observers find the posts and discussion too positive or perhaps lacking the perspective of a ‘realist.’ That stands to reason, because the off-season baseball fans that make up these boards are, in fact, optimists at heart. They are the true believers in the American experiment; that people can come together, put aside their differences, and give one another the freedom to sing, eat, drink, and cheer.
So until someone takes me out to the ballpark come spring, there is no better company to keep than the keepers of the American spirit: the off-season baseball fan.