Baseball is called America's greatest past-time and there are many reasons why people feel this way. It can be something small like the hot dogs at their favorite stadium or something big like being the Tigers' #1 fan. Let me give you my reasons.
10. Baseball means summer. There's nothing better than looking forward to Spring Training. Not only is winter almost over but you can now put away your football jersey and break out the baseball cap.
9. The players. In baseball, you have to have skill. This is true in every sport, but you can be pushing 50 and still playing baseball...if you've got what it takes. Hitting a tiny ball going 98 MPH is far more impressive to me than making a layup.
8. The players. Yeah, this is also #9, but now I'm talking about really looking at the players. Football players may have huge muscles and soccer players have nice legs, but in baseball uniforms, a guy can look attractive with hardly anything at all. You can't be scrawny by any means, but show me some pinstripes and some tight pants, and I'll cheer for you.
7. It's in our blood. Americans have been infatuated with baseball for over one hundred years and the love affair shows no signs of stopping. USA=baseball.
6. Big League Chew. Hands down, this is the best brand of bubble gum out there. If there was no baseball, we would have never discovered such a wonderful treat. By chewing it, you feel like you could keep up with the pros and maybe even blow a bigger bubble.
5. The drama. You can't tell me that a brawl that clears both benches isn't one of the greatest things you can witness at a sporting event. It's not always pretty or dignified but when the pitcher is kicking the crap out of the hitter, you're bound to get excited. And don't even get me started on pitchers turning on their own catchers. Cough, cough, Zambrano.
4. "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks..." This song, sung in the 7th inning stretch, represents all that is good and holy in baseball. Everyone knows it and everyone can sing it, which means that everyone knows something about the great game of baseball. Our grandparents can sing it, while our parents hum it, and our own children will be trying to learn it on the piano. "Cuz it's one, two, three strikes you're out, at the ole' BALL GAME!"
3. The atmosphere. I went to a Dodgers game this year and although I'm not a huge fan, it was the best game I've ever gone to. Why? Simply because of the atmosphere. The sun had just set, it was about 55 degrees, and everyone was geared up in their favorite players' jersey. The stadium is one of the oldest in the country and I'm not even going to go into how wonderful a Dodger Dog is. What I'm trying to say is, the atmosphere of a baseball game is something that you can't take for granted and that you can't duplicate. If you've never been to a MLB game, please do yourself a favor and go.
2. You can be a baseball fan from the age of 4 up to 100. You start off playing tee ball, and then Little League. Soon you're on a middle school traveling team and your high school is winning regionals. You might play in college and you could be lucky enough to make it to the MLB, but the main thing is, you're in it for life. Baseball gets into your body and soul and without it, you are nothing. As Jimmy Dugan says in the movie A League of Their Own, "Baseball is what gets inside you. It's what lights you up, you can't deny that."
1. The loyalty and love you have for your team. For me of course, it's always been the Cubs. No matter what, if they haven't won a game all season or if they've just won the World Series, you stick with them. You follow the transactions, you feel for the pitcher when he has to get surgery, and you leap with joy when someone breaks a record. Your team and your fellow fans are what makes baseball great.
So there it is. My top 10 reasons why I love this sport. Stupid me, I've forgotten one. There's no crying in baseball.
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