I am nearly 32 and though I was raised by a die-hard Giants fan, but my affinity for them is recent. I am one of those terribly uncool folks who fell in love with them only last year. I know, you have loved them your whole life and think I am a poser. Whatever.
Let me back up. I had a 92 year old client. I have mentioned her in my blogposts before. She is a huge sports fan. Nearly blind, she has a huge screen TV. She also cranks the volume to the point where it's impossible to hear the people you're sitting next to. First she insists I watch tennis with her. I sigh, resigned. Slowly, I got into it. In a few days, I was actively rooting for the young Spaniard. Man, can that kid play tennis.
Before long, I was on a shift with her when the Giants were playing. I was reticent. Having decided many years ago that watching sports was a huge waste time, hand crafted by the man to keep the masses entertained, fat and lazy. I considered it a bit below me, in all honesty. My dad tried to influence me, to convince me it was worth appreciating. Try as I might, I just thought it was the most boring game I had ever seen. As a kid and until a year ago, I never understood what the announcers were talking about. The game always seemed to be happening but no one was ever moving. And the innings would drag on and on.
My 92 year old friend is both classy and patient. She said, "Just watch." So I did. I got to know the players and the rules of the game. I shook my fist at a bad call by the umpire and cheered out loud when they won. I started to see Baseball as something more than a sport, but a tradition of respect and yes, the great American game.
Cue the National Anthem.
We went to a game last week at AT&T. Giants vs. Dodgers. The Giants didn't win. However, the park was beautiful and despite the sweaty human-body overload when waltzing through the park, fleeing the blinding heat of that day, it was epic. I got to see Timmy pitch!
I was bummed I did not get to see Wilson. Nor Posey. Guess we'll just have to make another trip to the park. This next time, though- they need to win. Got that guys?
Jessica,
I’m one of those guys whose been a fan (off and on) of the Gians since 1957 when the Giants moved to SF. After years and years of (admittedly self-generated) disappointment (starting with when McCovey hit that line drive that almost won the series against the Yankess in 1962) …
From Wikipedia: Perhaps McCovey’s best-known moment in baseball came in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7, with 2 outs and the Giants trailing 1–0. With Willie Mays on second base and Matty Alou on third, any base hit would likely have won the championship for the Giants. McCovey scorched a hard line drive that was snared by the Yankees’ second baseman Bobby Richardson, ending the series with a Yankees’ win. That would turn out to be the closest McCovey would get to playing on a world championship team.
Talk about stomach dropping. But I digress.
Anyway, 2010 they finally won. Very good. Kinda lucky, but still, very good.
My suggestion to enjoying baseball is to focus on the good, tense, competitive games, not the wins. The only bad games are the one-sided wipe-outs where there’s no nerve-wracking plays, nearly no doubt about the outcome. The wins for your team are great, but the good game, the well-turned double-play when it really, really matters, no matter who wins, is the best.
Because, with the blow-outs, it is more like your previous impression: boring.
PS. Google George Carlin’s old bit (now on youtube) comparing baseball to football.
Awesome! I love that Carlin skit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_yq4L3M_I Epic.
Never thought I’d see the day….but duh! contempt prior to investigation…guess I’ll have to try to watch..love your writing about it tho.