Just the beginning...

Those close to me can attest to the fact that I know very little about sports in general.

I try to not call the guy behind the catcher a referee (anymore); and I know that when the ball goes through the hoop it isn't a touchdown; and when all those guys try to kill each other and end up in heaps so one can run down the field with the ball, I don't holler "home run!" But despite these accomplishments, I still know very little compared to most people. And I've always been ok with that. Until now. Now there is one sport I would like to learn (at least a little) more about: baseball.

Baseball has always made the most sense to me of any game. I can usually keep up with what is going on, even if my terminology is a bit off. I remember lying on my stomach in the middle of my grandparents' den and watching the Braves with my grandfather...listening to him fuss at the players as if they could hear him...asking him "who is winning"...picking out my favorite guys on the team...questioning him about the players' personal lives...standing up (right in front of the screen) and being told I made "a great door but not much of a window." Yes, I'd say there is some emotional attachment to that sport.

As I was watching my first in-person game last week, I was overwhlemed with a sense of tradition, pride, American spirit and wholesome fun. I don't know all the history, I still know next to nothing about those players, yet I feel like I learned so much. Thanks to a very special and patient teacher sitting next to me, I learned a few basic points of the game (although I still couldn't keep score to save my life!). But it was more than that. It was the atmosphere. The smells. The sounds. The excitement. The children's faces. And there were some really great parallels.

Those players out on the field that evening in many ways represent all of us -- and exemplify how we should live. They have a dream: they are going for it. They don't know how far they will "go": but it isn't stopping them. They are not alone, it's a team sport: the only way they can reach their goal is being a part of others reaching theirs. They work hard: because they enjoy it. They don't always win the games: but they love the game.

I was expecting to have a wonderful time that Memorial Day evening -- and it was the best I've ever had. But I didn't expect to learn so much. To feel a part of it.

Now, I still don't know much about sports, baseball included. But when the fireworks display began after the game, I wasn't thinking about that. As I hummed along to the patriotic songs filling the park as the colors filled the sky, I was thinking about how wonderful it is that there is always something new to learn and enjoy. I hope I never stop doing both.

I think baseball is just the beginning.