For the Love of the Game

This was written after my trip to Fenway Park where I was at the July 31st game where Manny Ramirez got a pinch-hit game winning single against the Twins.     It can be hard when you are asked “Why do you love sports so much, what is it all about?”
     It’s a question you really cannot answer because you will never know unless you’ve had that feeling, that feeling that went through the Fenway Faithful one Sunday afternoon…
     It’s about a Red Sox fan’s first trip to Fenway Park, getting to be a part of that crowd that they’ve watched so much.
     It’s about walking down Yawkey Way, seeing all those championship banners, all the history and all the fans ecstatic and anticipating another day at the ballpark.
     It’s about a rookie pitcher, making his Major League debut, throwing 94 mph fastballs consistently to give his team a chance for the win after being thrown into one of the biggest stages on such short notice.
     It’s about two teams going back and forth, matching each other home run for home run, score for score, for seven innings.
     It’s about the veteran pitchers that take over for the rookie, ones that have fought through injury to do as much as they can to get their team the win.
     It’s about that one player on the bench, after days of being maligned by the fans and the media, being the center of trade rumors and the center of the baseball world for the past week.
     It’s about the fans chanting that player’s name, hoping, waiting, praying to see the slugger come up and win one for the team, the team that they love so much.
     It’s about the eighth inning, when the fans start chanting, reaching out as far as they can, trying to get the manager to put that player on the field.
     “We want Manny! We want Manny!”
     It’s about when that player steps out of the dugout and the explosion that happens next.
     It’s about that electricity that goes through the crowd, that indescribable feeling like none other when the stadium turns upside down.
     It’s about when that player steps up to the plate for the first time, gets that winning hit and the crowd goes nuts again, cheering, clapping, yelling.
     It’s about the player raising his helmet to acknowledge the crowd, being welcomed back with opening arms like he had returned from some journey.
     It’s about being among the Fenway Faithful that day when sparks flew and electricity goes through the crowd and passes through you, all for that team. A team that shows how you work together to win ball games, and especially having fun while doing it.
     For the love of the game.
     That’s what it’s all about.