“A DAY AT THE PARK TO BE REMEMBERED”
by OPOVV, ©2015
(Apr. 20, 2015) — I used to be the sports writer for a little newspaper. I covered everything, including little pig races at the county fair to turtle races at a 4-H Club weekend retreat, which was the backyard of the Sunday school teacher’s house on the edge of town.
I’ve written about lots of sports, from Formula One car races to high school football, and thousands of baseball games. I used to have an apartment in Florida that was a block or so from the Little League baseball field and watched many a game and enjoyed every one of them. I also had an apartment that had a balcony overlooking the spring training camp of one of our major league teams, and it just so happened that the particular year I watched the daily practice and every home game was the year that team (my “backyard team”) won the World Series.
You could make a case for the Saturday night stock car races at the fairgrounds as being the quintessential American sport, or football, or basketball, but for my money, nothing beats a night at the park with friends and family, eating a hot dog and drinking a cold one. Of course we root for the home team, but we all like the whole experience: the crowd, the contest, and the game itself.
Baseball is truly unique. Balls flying at over a hundred miles an hour while announcers debate what are the resident pigeons’ and seagulls’ favorite stadium fare: French fries or hotdog bun crumbs?
You have your National Anthem, Color Guard, and the 7th Inning Stretch. At a Cubs home game, just about anyone can sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and, no matter how bad some of the singers are, and there have been, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst singers ever to sing on national television, it’s all entertaining and carefree. No one takes anything seriously; maybe no one takes the Cubs seriously.
I was born a Cubs fan. Some people are, and then some aren’t. Some people have to learn to be a Cubs fan, and I say if you have to learn to be a Cubs fan, you’ll never be one. A Cubs fan is unlike any other fan in sports. A Cubs fan does not want his team to win as much as he wants his team to “not lose.” And if the Cubs do happen to lose, a fan will just say that “They didn’t win.” It’s complicated, but not if you’re a Cubs fan.
That said, the other day I watched the most exciting moment in baseball history while watching a Cubs game. This is how it went: foul ball. Lady unwittingly catches the ball in her plastic cup of beer. Now get this: she chugs the beer, and then she takes the ball out and holds it up for all to see! It was great. Everyone was laughing, clapping and had big smiles. A day at the park to be remembered, for sure.
On page 37 in “Proper Baseball Park Etiquette for Young Ladies.” it states: Catching foul balls without gloves: a plastic cup will substitute for a proper baseball glove. It is preferred that the lady have, at the minimum, a half cup of beer. Hold cup up for all to see. Chug the beer. Remove ball from cup and hold ball up in air with outstretched arm. Be prepared for proposals of marriage immediately.
If anyone wanted to know what America was all about, I’d have to vote for this particular “Baseball’s Greatest Moment.” This catching ball in a beer cup, chugging the beer, removing the ball from cup, and holding ball in the air actually happened at a Cubs game on April 19, 2015. You just have to love those Chicago gals and those Chicago Cubs!