Today was the day. The red-letter day, all the red x’s on the calendar finally culminated at the big red circle: opening day. It’s the day I wait for all year. All the emotions are remembered. The emotions that have lied dormant since October rise to the surface. I did some screaming, and cheering, and I think I even growled at the electronic box showing the Yankees and Red Sox playing the first game of the year.
And while I will choose not to disclose the score, in the fear that my fingers will change it to suit my desire, let’s just say, today, the score doesn’t matter. Today is about recognizing what is before us: eight months of baseball. Eight months of yelling at the screen in hopes that I can cause an error in the outfield, or make my runner just a little bit faster as he rounds third. Eight months of running errands with the radio turned up, visualizing every pitch in my mind. Eight months of guts and glory. Eight months of wins and losses. And at the end, I will have a new set of memories.
This is the day I have looked forward to since the last strikeout for my beloved Colorado Rockies last year. A Troy Tulowitzki strike-out that nearly brought me to tears. It runs through my mind like a broken cassette tape, over and over. But today marks the day where the last, heart-breaking memory I have of the Rockies will soon be erased and be replaced with breathtaking action from 162 games. They will make me mad, and sad, and happy and elated, because with every pitch they’re giving me a little slice of life. Baseball is here.
To me, it also means spring is really here. The sound of Sweet Caroline ringing through the stadium not only symbolizes the final inning of the first game, but the sunshine that lies before us. Not only will my days be full of pop flies, strike-outs, home-runs, and those oh-so-tight baseball pants, but its spring, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the flowers are a-bloomin’ (for once I am sounding like a girl). I love spring and I love baseball and when the two come together, they form a matrimony made in heaven.
And now it is here, the day I have thirsted for. And when I look back in eight months it will be all but a distant memory. And there will be a new red circle on my calendar.
