Maybe baseball is just a game.
Dr. Christopher Lovett described the sport as a “historical event” during his presentation to the Allen County Historical Society on Monday, but at the end of the day, baseball is really all about which team leads at the end of nine innings.
Simple as that.
The moon landing was a historical event. So was the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the invention of the automobile.
So I’m not quite ready to give a game the same title.
But that doesn’t mean baseball is just another game.
An American pastime that now extends far beyond our own borders, baseball has left an impact on the culture of every country it reaches and has even helped create a bond between the U.S. and its once adversarial foes — like Japan and Cuba.
It’s difficult to say any other sport, besides soccer, has had a similar effect.
But I don’t love soccer. I love baseball.
I don’t love football, basketball, pick-up sticks or any other game.
I love baseball, and I know I shouldn’t.
No Cubs fan should. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it has kind of been a really long time since the Cubs have had anything to cheer about.
So I know I shouldn’t love a game that punches me in the gut every October and mercilessly teases me with hope again come April.
But I do.
I knew it on July 19, 2003, when my dad took me and my three older brothers to watch the Cubs play the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium.
It was my first game.
Twelve years later and 1,200 miles apart from my family, I still call my dad when the Cubs are on TV.
I talk him out of “boycotting” the team when they’re out of the pennant race in June. I talk him out of hopping on his Harley and riding to Chicago in time for the World Series (He’s both the most overly optimistic and overly pessimistic man I know).
I call my brother, who is stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany, to let him know the Cubs’ scores when he’s out in the field.
I always meet my two eldest brothers, who I see only every other year at best, at Wrigley Field — every time.
When the Cubs eventually win it all (and they will, they have to), I know I will have my dad and my brothers at either side.
That’s why I love baseball.
And I know that’s why southeast Kansas loves baseball too.
Not only is this area rich in history with greats like Walter Johnson and George Sweatt making their mark here, but now the Kansas City Royals are reviving the love of the game in surrounding communities.
Now that the Royals have reached their second straight World Series, there is no better time to introduce the sport to your son or call up your father and let him know you’ll be watching the game.
It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.
I guess that’s why it’s not just another game.
Why baseball isn’t just another game (column)
