Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Summer + Tradition = Baseball

I, like many Americans, have a love/ hate relationship with America's pastime: baseball.

The Big Red Machine

LOVE---Some of the best memories I'll ever have will be of the July trips we would take to Ft. Thomas, KY to see both of my grandmothers when I was a young boy. It was roughly 100 mi. from Louisville to Cincinnatti and it seemed like it took an eternity....an eternity to get to my Granny and Grandma's house....where on a few special occasions we would take the bus into downtown Cincy to Riverfront Stadium and see The Big Red Machine (Cincinnatti Reds) play baseball. Names like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, David Concepcion and Ken Griffey...SENIOR.....all led by manager Sparky Anderson would dominate the National League throughout the 1970's. For the games we didn't attend, we would sit on the screened-in porch and listen to the Reds on AM radio into the summer night.



HATE-Strikes, steroids, unions, selfishness, agents, scandals, money, salary caps, tv rights, owners, money, and more money. These are the things that divide Americans from the its baseball passion. We all get upset when the MLB players and owners continually screw up, but find ourselves buying jerseys and rooting for teams in the playoffs each October.

LOVE-When we moved to Dallas, on occasion, I would wander over to The Ballpark in Arlington to watch the lowly Texas Rangers trip on their own feet......but after all, it is the AMERICAN LEAGUE.....home of the DH....where a pitcher doesn't even bat! And it was fun......not like when I was a kid....but fun. However, tonight.....it's all changed.

Tonight, my business partner and I hosted 2 customers at a shrine to baseball: Fenway Park.

Put this on your "bucket list" if you haven't been.

We sat approx 50 ft from home plate, drank warm beer, yelled at the Oakland A's, ate Fenway Franks and drank more warm beer.....it was the greatest! And....the Red Sox lost!!! And it was still great!!!!!!

PS---Granny---if you are watching, don't worry. I haven't gone over to the DARK SIDE (MLB AL), but I figured Boston Red Sox fans (like all Cinncinnatti Reds fans) hate the Yankees, so I could support the Red Sox for 1 night.

Batter Up! PLAY BALL!

5 comments:

  1. Great post, Robert. Your mother took me to my first MLB game to see the Reds. It was also the evening after I got an antibiotic shot in my butt but I muscled through and survived. I wonder if Anne remembers this event?

    I think it's great you went to Fenway and the Sox losing is an added bonus. Go Yankees! This for sure would make Granny disown me but I admit to liking both the Mets and Yanks, I'm probably going to hell for saying this.

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  2. Well, you officially made Mom cry twice while reading this entry.

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  3. Robert
    I know I have told you that when I accompanied MOM to her MIT seminar we got to go to a Red Sox game and we actually walked from the MIT campus to the stadium, passing through the campus of Boston University en route. We stayed in a girls dorm for the week which was made available for married couples and I remember thinking ...this is a college dream come true, I woke up in a girls dorm and when I looked out the 3rd floor window I could see Fenway Park..I thought Fenway was everything I hoped it would be, a lot more character by far than than old Yankee Stadium. (yes, Bill, I hate the Yankees!)

    The next one on the bucket list....Wrigley Field, the home of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

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  4. While I'm glad you hated on the Yankees for one night in my honor Robert, I'd rather you just voted as a Democrat.

    It's okay though, I'll still always love you.

    -Granny

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  5. Oh, this is just swell, Robert has channeled Granny and she takes his side. I always knew Robert was Granny's favorite, very upsetting.

    I guess Gran never knew that Robert sold her stolen blue VW bug for a GI Joe action figure back in the day. I think it's time we let that little family secret out once and for all.

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