Take me out to the ballgame.  Take me out with the crowd.  Seems there are all kinds of sports for all kinds of people.  As we finish up March Madness and head into baseball season, I get a hankerin’ for peanuts and hot dogs and a day at the ball park.

Why DO we love baseball so much?   For me it is an excuse to spend hours at a ball park out in the sunshine cheering together with people I don’t know and getting away from The Daily Grind of life.   Baseball is like living in a fantasy world.  I get to be a part of other people’s lives in a most basic way.  I don’t have to work in any way, and I’m not expected to do anything but have fun! 

I currently live in Kansas City, Missouri, and we have just upgraded and spent literally millions on Kauffman Stadium.  Yes, I know, the Royals have disappointed us all in recent years, but with new digs and a whole new outlook, new players and some recent homerun hitters, my hope is that our team will be rebuilt and come out winners this year.  I already have tickets and am excited to see our new stadium.  I don’t know what it is about the Royals, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I love the team.  (Yes, I have other favorites, too…but won’t name them).

There are so many games each year, unlike football, baseball can be enjoyed and savored all summer long as part of the whole summer experience.   For my son and I, we go early, try to catch an autograph, play some games, stock up on junk food in anticipation for the game.   We spend time together as a family.

So, let’s head on out to the ball game and “root, root, root for the home team”.

(“Take Me Out To The Ball Game” was written in 1908 by a man named Jack Norworth. One day when he was riding a New York City subway train, he spotted a sign that said “Ballgame Today at the Polo Grounds.” Some baseball-related lyrics popped into his head, that were later set to some music by Albert Von Tilzer, to become the well known baseball song, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Despite the fact that neither  Norworth or Tilzer had ever been to a baseball game at the time the song was written, it is one of the most widely sung songs in America.  Source: NIEHS)