Play Ball!

Did you get up?

I did and let's just say I am not a morning person. Tuesday morning was a breeze. I woke up before my alarm, which was set for 5:45am and got myself ready to watch the first regular season baseball game of the 2008 season. This morning was a bit more of a challenge. But was it worth it? With a doubt. Absolutely. Yes.

Tuesday was a game that baseball fans wish for and today was one that I wish had gone the other way. But more important than the scores was the experience. The night before the opener, after announcing that I was heading to bed because I had an early morning ahead of me, I had someone ask me why I would ever get up that early to watch a game.

"It's just a game," he said as he looked at me in confusion as I explained the scary (for any college student) fact that I would be waking before dawn.

But that's not true. I defended myself by jumping up and down exclaiming that it’s baseball season and I’m a real fan, but if I could sit down and explain why I did, this here is what I would preach.

1. I’m a Red Sox fan. I love the team and I love sports. I hate missing games and missing two in a row, including the season opener, shouldn't even be an option. I’m not just a Sox fan at 7:05pm, but at 6:05am as well.


2. In 20 years when my child asks me about the Sox playing their 2008 opener in Japan, I will say I watched it. What if Dice-K wins the Cy Young and they credit it to him being able to play at home one final time? I will have seen it happen. What if the Sox win the 2008 World Series? The commemorative DVD will show the historic season opener. I will have already seen it. What if the MLB decides to ban international play due to the cumbersome stress travel has on player health? I will have seen the last game. Will any of these things happen, most likely not, well maybe the winning it all again statement, but if they do I can say I watched it.

Sports are about memories. You watch history take place, making memories and having fun while you do it. And maybe not to all, but to me memories are made all the time, even at 6:05am.