Opening Day
There are moments in life when we’re all the same age. Moments that bind age, creed and color into one unforgettable experience. They don’t happen often, but when they do, they remind you that the mundane isn’t always the everyday.
They remind you that some days are special. That there are some days you’ll never forget.
Much has been written about Jason Heyward, the 20-year-old rookie right-fielder for the Atlanta Braves. How he might be a once-in-a-generation player. How he is more grounded and focused than most 40-year-olds despite the fact that he can’t buy a beer at the stadium which he calls home. How he may be the new face of the franchise.
For one day, he lived up to the hype. But that isn’t all he did.
Today, he made me a kid again.
After overcoming one of the worst traffic experiences in my life, my wife and I got to our seats at Turner Field just minutes before player introductions. Player introductions are a big deal to me. And I didn’t want to miss it – especially being that it was the first of Heyward’s career.
See, there’s something special about #22.
I don’t know what it is about him. He’s just a kid (okay, no 6’5″ 245lbs man is a kid). But there is something about him that make me believe in baseball again. Makes me excited about baseball again.
More than the sport, or the team, I want Jason Heyward to be a star. I want him to be the guy that kids want to be. I want him to be Atlanta’s Joe Mauer.
This is all the more ironic because I hate fans. Being a fan makes people act like idiots. But damn it, I’m a fan.
I was recording Heyward’s first major league at-bat on my iPhone, when, on the third pitch he hit a home run so loud and so far that the entire stadium erupted in a euphoric sports orgasm. I kept screaming, “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” over and over as he rounded the bases.
In watching the home run after the game the video is actually wavy from the electricity. It was an unbelievable moment that leaves me almost speechless. (Jump to 1:17 for THE moment.)
Heyward had a great game in his debut. The type debut that makes fairytales seem a little more realistic. He’ll find plenty of 0-fers this season, but today he was the storybook hero.
Today he made me feel like a kid again. (I wish it’d last forever.)
Another nice post Chuck. A great opening day for the home town team.
BTW – also a better choice than previewing that film last night. I had to leave Rebekah there to finish it. I just couldn’t do it.
It was the most electric moment I’d seen in that ballpark in ten years. That’s me over there by the right field foul pole. Hi!
did you start the “we’re not worthy” movement?
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