March Madness!!!

"Basketball is the second most exciting indoor sport, and the other one shouldn't have spectators."-Dick Vertleib

Years ago, my buddies and I would get together for the NCAA Tourney and spend 6 hours in a bar watching non-stop basketball.  However, now we're all married and have kids so although we'll still get together every once in awhile, most of the time we watch the games in our own homes while speaking to each other on the telephone. 

And although we're all aware that fatherhood has changed us in immeasurable ways, we didn't quite realize how much we'd evolved until we started listening to each other during the hoop games.  Over the past two weeks, we were shocked to hear the following phrases come out of our mouths:

"Do the hokey pokey, UNC is on fucking fire!"

"D is for Defense, baby!"

"Man, the wheels on the bus go round and round!  The Hoyas can't miss!"

"Ring around the rosie! I can't believe that shot didn't drop in!"

Are my buddies and I the only ones who speak like this?  Or do any of you other dads out there find yourselves doing the same thing?  And what about women?  Do any of you pick up stupid things from your kids and use them in everyday conversation?  Like, if you find a great pair of shoes, do you tell your girlfriends that they're "totally fragglicious?"  Or would you call your sister up excitedly and yell, "W is for Warehouse Sale!"

It is just a guy thing, isn't it? That's what I thought.

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"There are three things in my life which I really love:  God, my family, and baseball.  The only problem is that once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit."-Al Gallagher

Opening Day for MLB baseball is in 5 days. 

For us die-hard fans, there's an old saying that "baseball is like a church---many attend but few understand."  And if baseball truly is a church, then Opening Day is our Easter.  It's a time of renewal and resurrection.  It represents a newness in which every team starts with a clean slate and every fan can begin hoping for the glory of seeing their team in the World Series.  Tabula rasa, baby!

Now, don't get me wrong.  I enjoy most sports.  However, the other sports are just sports.  Baseball is a love.  And as George Will once wrote, "Baseball, it is said, is only a game.  True.  And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona."

I like to think that my love of baseball has imparted lessons that I have carried over into life.  If you look at the sport philosophically, almost every facet of baseball can be seen as an allegory for life.  It's a game where sacrifice is truly appreciated.  Subtlety is rewarded.  Patience is a virtue.  Fear is your ally.  And, most importantly, it teaches you that success really can be defined in decimal points.

This season will be the first one where I think I'll start taking the Peanut to Met games with me.  I know she's too young to understand the finer nuances of the game.  However, I figure after a couple of potato knishes, some old-school Shea Stadium hot dogs, and a few giant balls of cotton candy, she's gonna be hooked for life.

GO METS!

Like most Asian baseball players, the Peanut dislikes chewing tobacco.  Pacifiers are the new chaw, y'all!

Meanwhile, who are YOU rooting for this season?  I'm a sucker for a good wager.  After losing a horrible bet to my pal Big Dubya last year, I'm looking to make amends!

Comments

[Leta]

It must be a guy thing. Our niece used to LOVE Barney and even though she is now 14 years old, whenever my father-in-law eats something that is really good he calls it "Barney". And GO REDS.

[stebujiji]

I live for the Twins, even though they reside in a giant, teflon coated toilet. How many teams can claim a batting champ, Cy Young, and the MVP in one season??? Gotta love 'em!!!

[madmac66]

First, nice to see the Angles represented in the comments, Go Halos. Glad to see you are a Mets fan, the other white meat-heads, and not the NY team that shall go unmentioned....

This post cracked me the fuck up. I totally do this albeit not talking to buddies watching sports. But everyday conversation is peppered with toddlerese just as you painted it.

We are a hockey family down here and The Sprite gets freaked out still whendaddy erupts like Vesuvius when The Ducks score. I gotta learn to calm down and watch my language when he's around.

we took him to some Ducks and Angels games when he was younger (ie: free) and he basically climbed all over me the entire time. Did not see any of the games. totally pointless...

[Alvin]

I got this game for my birthday and was real extecid about it. I played a game of Franchise then the My Player Mode and was very impressed with it . Coming from The Show to 2K11 the interface was very different but I got used to it. The controls were different too mainly the hitting and fielding but I also got used to and enjoy it now. Some things are kind of frustrating though such as all the injuries. Playing with the Braves I've had 6 starters injuried at the same time and currently have 3 of my starting pitchers and 2 starting position players. I understand the occasional injury but it's getting riduclous so I chenged the injury frequency from 50 to 35 yet my players are still getting hurt a lot in Franchise mode. The stealing is also very difficult for me to and you have to be perfect when trying to otherwise you'll get picked off or in a pickle. I'm also having problems with the game freezing too but only in one specific scenario and that is when I save and quit from Franchise mode and go directly back to the main menu it will freeze on m. This probably has to do with the game being scratche or the console but I've never dropped the game and the console is only about a year old plus it doens't do it to any other game. I also had another random glitch and this was after I walked a left handed batter and a right handed batter had come to the plate yet the last batter was still at the plate and he didn't leave until the atbat was over. The next half innng I was hitting and someone was sitting in the middle of the infield and it didn't interefere with the game though. Minus some of these irratating problems though it can still be a fun game to play.