We Did It!!! An Ode to Opening Day

Today is a glorious day. A day, that in my very humble opinion, should be a national holiday. Today, is Opening Day, and with it comes so many fantastical feelings. Allow me to try to express those to you today.

Deep in the heart of an asphalt jungle, there lies a patch of green grass. The grass is surrounded on all sides by concrete and plastic, only broken up by a long stretch of small, red rocks and a bed of dirt.

But this is no ordinary patch of grass. This grass belongs to a park. And while this park is open for anyone to look at, it is reserved for 50 men to play on every day. But this grass represents more than just a park.

To some, it opens a path to a parallel dimension. A world where there are no work problems. There are no bills to worry about, there are no illnesses to dread. The only thing that exist in this universe is this park, and the men, playing this children’s game.

To others, this patch of grass is a time machine. It transports its patron to a time when their mothers and fathers and grandparents would tell the stories of the legends of yesterday. It transports them to a time when they were young. To a time, when they could still dream the impossible dream, and play the child’s game for years to come.

Yet to others, this grass provides a glimpse into the future. A time when they will bring their own friends and family, and marvel at the legends who have yet to been born.

In many ways, this park seems magical. Perhaps it is. But in reality, this patch of grass and the park it lives in are all of these things and none of these things. It means so much more to us than just the game being played on it.

It is our proof that even our most darkest moments will lead us to the light. That no matter how harsh a winter, that the days will get longer and brighter. That good things come to those who wait, and that anything, yes anything, is possible.

What is this magical quality of this place and of this game being played on it? Why does it call across to multiple generations, and fill our brains with knowledge and our hearts with hope? Why does it grip us so?

Perhaps it all comes down to the magical game that it plays host to? A game where the offense never touches the ball, and points are not won, rather runs are earned. This game that is played on a diamond, where players are told to take a round object and hit a round ball squarely.

Perhaps this game reminds of life? After all, the game itself is not a sprint. Like life, this game will have its ebbs and flows, its peaks and its valley. Yet, no matter the result, the players must rise the next day and go to work. The game steeped in tradition, yet so often ahead of its time.

The game that is played in a leisurely pace, in a world that seems to have an insatiable need for speed. Yes this game, gives you exactly what you need.

It is a glorious game, but not a game for kings. Rather, a game that offers more diversity than any other. This is a game where failure is not only acceptable, but expected.

Finally, as Spring awakens from the long hibernation of Winter, our game will crawl from its cave, and awaken us all. For today, the long arm of the law will stand behind home, and with one point from his index finger, demand a King to. “play ball”.

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