Yesterday was, as I told Morgane, "the most important day of the year." Unfortunately upon our return from Barcelona Monday morning I was unable to discover any semblance of care, concern, or curiosity in the faces of the Parisians that passed us by. There certainly wasn't anyone loading up on baguettes and brie for the pre-game parties. No one seemed to be rushing home from work to watch the "Lead-Off Man." Though the populous seemed not to care, Opening Day had finally arrived.
Always true to form, the Cubbies strung me out again. I don't know how they do it but they always seem to know the best way to destroy a fan. Leave it to Chicago to give you eight strong innings, have a former ace cum closer give up three runs in the ninth, have the deficit erased/witness the birth of a new star (Kosuke Fukedome--curtain called in his first game), only to lose the game again in the 10th courtesy of another member of our strong pen. There are enough story lines for a week in each game.
As downtrodden as I was going to bed late last night after the loss, there were plenty of things to be happy about. Topping the list is Mr. Fukedome. With the way he played yesterday, he is on a short path to my new favorite Cub (he'd have to turn in an identical performance day-in-day-out for the rest of the year to oust my fellow Arkansan, Torii Hunter, from his spot as my favorite MLB player). There of course is also the sheer pleasure of having baseball on again. Being able to see web gems, box scores, and double steals for the next six months is enough to temper any Opening Day loss.
Even with the loss, even though they are in last place after day one, it is a long season (for most of my friends the length is interminable). But in its length there is countless opportunities. There will continue to be chances to make up for day one, countless chances to make fans forget your former glories as well as your errs. Mr. Pope certainly didn't intend for it to become bywords for my chosen passion but, "hope springs eternal" has become just that. Crack open a Budweiser for Harry and hope as I hope: That this, one hundred years in, might just be the year for my boys. That spring turns to summer and summer to fall with ne'er a Cubbies slip.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Kerry Wood needs to go, I'm tired of waiting on him to fulfill some sort of promise. Fukudome is going to own it this year.
I'm not entirely ready to give up on him. Dusty Baker screwed both his and Prior's career and though it's been several years I think he deserves the chances he's been given.
Even though we're 0-2, I'm really pumped about the rest of the season.
Post a Comment