Love and Baseball

THIS IS NOT A POST ABOUT BASEBALL.

So no need to take me off your google reader just yet.

However, this IS a post about family. About friends. About memories. About putting a dent in ones bucket list. It's about a legacy.About a dream turned reality. About pain and passion. About loyalty. Laughter. Good, old fashioned fun. Discipline. Determination. Blood, sweat, and tears. It's about heart. Courage. Humility. About feeling like a kid again. It's about LOVE. And yes, it's also about torture.

This morning I tuned into KRON 4 news like I usually do when I get ready for work, and watched them interview Giants fans at Civic Center. When they asked one man how he felt about winning the World Series he said, "I just wish my pops was here to see this."

I CRY NOW. AGAIN.

The other week I read this blurb about Debbie Freitas, who shared Giants season tickets with her husband Dan back in the 80s. He passed away two years ago, but it hasn't stopped her from attending the games in the same section and wearing his Giants jacket for good luck.

The night the Giants won the World Series, I headed over to the Embarcadero to catch what was apparently the "hood" portion of the celebration. As I was sitting shotty with the window down screaming back to folks on the street chanting, "GIANTS BABYYYY!" I saw two guys walking towards each other. One was a middle-aged white man in a suit and Giants baseball hat. The other, a young black man in an oversized Giants jersey and dreadlocks. They smiled and gave each other a hi-five. It was kinda awesome.

And somewhere out there is an interview of Edgar Renteria in which he admits to breaking down in front of the team in tears thinking his career was over. Today, he's the 2010 World Series Champs MVP. But more importantly, he is a hero and a symbol of hope.

Some people don't like the Giants. OK fine. But to me, they are so much more than a team.
Some people think baseball is the most boring sport ever. I get it, I do. But to me, this is so much bigger than baseball.

Amongst the madness of Corona bottles and people on top of trees at the parade yesterday, I noticed A LOT of families. Especially, parents with their children. Some too young to even know what was going on, yet still adorning teeny-tiny Giants onesies. I watched Wilson's last pitch with my mom at Roy's in celebration of her birthday and although I wished I was drunk at some sports bar with my friends, I was happy I got to witness history with the woman who brought me into this world on her special day. I can only hope I get to do the same with my future children one day.

OK, so maybe this post was a little bit about baseball. Just a little bit. But I'm not going to say sorry. Because anything that was meaningful enough to make grown men (and big babies like me) cry is worth writing about. So no apologies here. Only "Thank-yous." Thank you to the 2010 World Series Champs, the San Francisco Giants, for painting the town proud and happy, and orange and black for days beyond Halloween. Thank you for bringing together my beloved city that I've lived for 27 years. And thank you to my readers who've painstakingly beared with me during all my baseball blabber, I guess it was torture for you too.

Thanks for the pic "Nicholas" lol.