Tomorrow is Opening Day for the Marlins, in their old, non-baseball stadium, and I couldn't be more excited to be going. It reminds me of the feeling I used to have as a kid growing up in Queens, practically within sight of the "Big, Beautiful, Shea" when it first hosted the not so marvelous Mets in 1964. As a kid, I really did not care too much whether the Mets finished first or even last, just so long as I could be there and root for a team that played practically a centerfielder's throw from my backyard. Twelve year olds think that way. They go for the game, for the feeling, for the dream.
Well, now I am a Marlins fan, living here in south Florida, a venue I always associated only with spring training and the "Grapefruit League." I rarely even go to a spring training game these days, waiting patiently for the real thing, and it is a special treat for me that my Marlins, the Mets of the new millenium, are playing the new New York Mets in their home park on Opening Day. I suppose I should have stayed loyal to my childhood team after all these years, but there is something to be said for supporting your community, even if the team does play a good hour away from my Florida home and will soon be called the Miami Marlins.
Not to say that I am not at least a little optimistic about the upcoming season. Sure, we have the lowest payroll in baseball, and yes, we did trade away our two most famous and spirited players, but at least we still have our team, and a stadium of our own seems almost a reality. The Marlins have certainly been an excellent Opening Day team over their 15 years of existence, going 7-4 at home and 8-7 overall. We have already beaten the Mets once before at home on Opening Day, 6-2 in 1999, before a very partisan New York crowd as I recall. We have also done just a little better than the Mets in winning a couple of World Series over that time span, including that remarkable win over their crosstown hated rival. I would not count the Marlins out so fast, at least on a particular day such as tomorrow, when an underdog team takes the field against the mighty Mets and their newly purchased ace.
I will be at that game tomorrow around two hours early, hoping to perhaps catch a batting practice ball off the bat of Mike Jacobs in the right field bleachers. I'll be talking baseball with my son, who is now 17 but was there at the age of 2 on the first Opening Day back in '93 when the upstart Marlins upset the heavily favored Dodgers 6-3. And you can be sure I will be back again next year for Opening Day, regardless of the score tomorrow or where they finish in the standings when October finally rolls around.
Yes, it's that time of year again, and I kind of feel like a kid of twelve, hoping to snag a foul ball off the bat of some future superstar. You just never know.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
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3 comments:
AS a die hard Mets fan and going to opening day every year since I was a kid I can sympathize. You perfectly captured the 12 year old kid in all of us who loves the game more than life itself. I got tickets for opening day tomorrow too for the Yankees. I hate them and plan on rooting against them, but celebrating our pastime one last time in the House that Ruth Built will for sure jerk a tear from my eye.
I too am a New York transplant as they call us, and I was a Mets fan for life. Now I root for both teams, even though it's hard when they're in the same division.
Your article really struck me to the core. I remember that feeling also, when baseball wasn't about free agent contracts or steroids, and people just loved the game. We've never had that feeling down here. Maybe the stadium will bring it.
Thank you for a beautiful article. Made my day.
Very nice piece. Have fun at the game.
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