This column originally appeared on the front page of the Sun Chronicle on Monday, March 31, 2014.
AN INSIDE LOOK
By Bill Gouveia
I am a fan of all sports, but always
come back to baseball as my favorite.
I’m not exactly sure why, but the Grand Old Game and our local franchise
has a hold on me that simply can’t be broken.
Today is Opening Day for the Red
Sox. That’s the World Series Champion
Boston Red Sox, thank you very much. The
team I have followed since I was old enough to turn on a radio. The institution I have loved through times
both happy and sad (mostly sad) for over a half a century now. You would think I’d be an old hand at this.
But Opening Day still makes me a
little bit giddy, even if it isn’t being played at home in Fenway Park. I still hopped out of bed (well, perhaps
“hopped” is a slight exaggeration these days) with a little extra spring in my
step this morning. The sun seems a
little brighter, the air a little crisper, and everyone’s mood just a little
happier.
All because baseball is back.
I love football and the Patriots,
having been a season ticket-holder for more than four decades. I have always been a huge Celtic fan, this
year notwithstanding. And I grew up watching
the Bruins, renewing that loyalty over the last decade or so.
But the Red Sox are an experience in
and of themselves. The world in these
parts revolves around when the truck leaves for spring training and when the
playoffs start in October. Wedding are
planned around off-days and road trips.
Yankee games are practically holidays.
In my mind baseball is still the
national pastime, despite the best efforts of the NFL. But baseball in New England is unlike
baseball almost anywhere else. Few fans
live and die with their team the way Red Sox fans do, and whether you consider
that good or bad – it is an interesting phenomenon.
If the Red Sox win against the
Orioles in Baltimore today, life will be wonderful. Optimism will rule, and the sky will be the
limit. World Series plans will be made,
talk of a dynasty will fill the sports radio airwaves, and the recent contract
given David Ortiz will be called a steal for the team.
Of course, should they happen to
lose the opener today, things will be slightly different. The season will be in ruins, the playoffs
nearly out of reach, and talk radio will be dominated by chatter concerning the
mistake they made signing Ortiz and exactly when John Farrell should be fired
as manager.
But this morning, it’s Opening
Day. The season is starting and life is
beginning anew. This is one of those
times when the Red Sox have a virtual pass from fans, considering their
unexpected World Series win last October.
They earned enough good will to get them through the entire year.
Unless they start losing, of
course. Then it might only last three
months. Or maybe three weeks. If they get swept in Baltimore, the honeymoon
could be over before they even get home.
But for now, hope spring
eternal. The Sox enter the game today
undefeated. And it is springtime, when
in the words of a long-retired Boston sportswriter, “A young man’s fancy turns
to thoughts of glove…”
So I will have my iPad next to my
computer monitor at work today, watching the game while trying to look like I’m
not. I will be looking to establish the
relationship every true fan has to seek out with the new roster of players each
season. I will be watching to see how
the pitching staff looks, and whether the team has improved defensively.
I’ll study Grady Sizemore, the great
story of this year’s spring training.
After not playing baseball for almost two years, Sizemore won the
starting centerfield position and is an inspiring story. But mostly, I’ll be celebrating the true sign
of the changing of the seasons.
Today is Opening Day, and there is
nothing better to rejuvenate the spirit and head us towards summer. Baseball is a great game, and this will be
another terrific season for the Red Sox.
Unless they lose today, of course. Then it’s time to move on to football season. It’s not easy being a Boston fan.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and can be emailed at aninsidelook@aol.com
and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
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