Tonight I am writing an article with a little bit of a twist. This article won’t be about statistics, injuries, or trades. Tonight, this article will be simply about the love for baseball and how much fans appreciate the wonderful game.
Any baseball fan, whether you’re an ordinary fan or a die-hard fan, knows that there is so much more to baseball than just the stats. Baseball stands out to any other sport out there. Baseball fans appreciate the little things that happen during a game. Every little detail about the game of baseball can give you the chills.
People ask me all time why I’m so obsessed with baseball. A non-baseball fan could never understand why us die-hard baseball fans are obsessed with this game. When they ask why we are so obsessed, this is what I tell them…
There is no better feeling than walking into your team’s stadium. When you look around, you see so many people who love the game just as much as you do. The smell of cooking hot dogs and popping popcorn makes you melt. You take a look at your ticket to remind yourself where your seats are, then you walk into your section’s entrance. When you step inside and you catch a glimpse at the freshly cut field, it feels like the first time every time. The smell of the grass is almost intoxicating.
You finally sit in your seat and you’re all settled in. Every time you’re about to watch the game, you feel excitement in your belly. As time goes by, you finally hear the PA announcer say “Please rise and remove your caps for the playing of our National Anthem.” Every once in a while, the singer/choir brings you to goosebumps as they sing our National Anthem. You look down and see the players lined up with their caps over their hearts. Loud cheers emerge from thousands of fans once the anthem is over. Once the anthem is over, game time begins…
The players run onto the field and you get more excited. Throughout the game, you notice all of the details. In the background, you hear the vendors saying “Peanuts! Cracker Jacks! Frozen lemonade!” The little things like that you come to appreciate.
Every single part of a baseball game are things that die-hard fans absolutely love. The smallest things that non-baseball fans surpass are the things that us baseball fans adore…
The goofy handshake rituals in the dugout that fans come to know and love. The high socks that go up to the player’s knees. The amazing catches that the outfielders make or the diving stops in the infield. When your team is down by six runs and they play a huge comeback inning. Have you ever seen a pitcher hit a home run? Yes, that happens. The thrill of hearing fireworks every time your home team gets a home run. Every now and then, a team could play until past midnight in extra innings. You could prove yourself as a fan if you stick around even though your team is losing by ten or more runs. Have you ever witnessed a walk-off? It’s one of the best feelings a fan could have. Appreciating the strategy of the game is a major part of being a baseball fan. Watching an outfielder throw out a runner at home base. Watching your catcher gun down a runner attempting to steal second base, or the pitcher picking off a runner before the pitch. Giving the people around you high-fives when something exciting happens. Have you ever seen the dances that some players do? It can make you laugh until you have tears in your eyes.
…These are the things that may not seem important to non-baseball fans – but they mean the world to baseball fans.
A baseball fan could go on and on about the little details about the game itself. From statistics to goofy dugout dances, it is all important to us.
Baseball can bring people together, whether it’s at the stadium or in front of a television or radio. Nothing feels better than the bonding that baseball can bring together. Baseball goes back many years. Families and friends gather around to this day to enjoy the game of baseball.
So before someone asks a baseball fan why they love baseball so much, they need to sit down and really observe the little details that happen during a game. Those little details is what makes the game so big. From the smell of stadium food to the fireworks after a victory, my love for baseball will never go away.
Here’s to the baseball fans who dedicate all they have to their favorite team. Here’s to the fans who appreciate the game. Here’s to the die-hard fans.
Keep flying, Cardinal Nation.
Carly Schaber
Twitter: @Carly_Schaber
Photo: games.usvsth3m.com
