Go the Distance!

After a fantastic weekend, I spent today resting my aching legs. I'll post my race report for the National Half Marathon tomorrow (I mean, seriously, what's Monday morning for if not for doing non-work related stuff?)

However, today was about a different sport that's near and dear to my sport: baseball. Today is Opening Day for my Washington Nationals in their new ballpark, Nationals Park down in DC. If you look back far enough in the archives of this blog, you'll find numerous posts about baseball and the Nats back when I originally carved out this space on Blogger's servers about a year ago. Initially I envisioned a blog dedicated solely to the Nationals and while I love the Nationals and have ever since the old Montreal Expos brought baseball back to Washington after more than three decades away. But I found that being in Baltimore made it exceedingly difficult to follow the team in the same way that other Washingtonians could (i.e. in person!). I went to see the Nationals when they came and whopped the O's last season here in Baltimore. I have similar plans for the series in May, in fact.

About that time I started to run more and thus, the Baltimore Running Project in its current form came to be. However, Opening Day is something of a religious holiday for baseball fans. We have a ritual that we follow and dedicate much of our day to the event. For me, this means my annual viewing of Field of Dreams, the quintessential movie about baseball, realizing your dreams and embracing new beginnings. It's also got a lot to do with the inevitable baggage that fathers and sons create during those first 18 years of life and parenthood, but that's for another blog, I suspect. For me, Field of Dreams is perfect for Opening Day. Just as Ray is filled with regret from his years past, so to are those baseball fans whose teams aren't from New York or Boston and who can't afford to buy a pennant or ring each season. We regret that our teams didn't do better or draft stronger or trade smarter. And, as Ray and Terrance Mann discover, you can always do something today to pursue dreams of yesterday. Just as we as fans can look to our teams and the new season for new hope and the chance at improvement, if not outright victory.

More than any of that, though, it's a movie about baseball and what it means to some people. Some kids grow up with baseball, both athletically and spiritually. It becomes a part of our psyche and remains a comforting constant throughout the various stages of our lives. Every time I see a baseball diamond, I'm transported back to Little League. The smell of the ball and glove are enough to take me back in an instant. It's hard to describe or compare to other sports. All sorts of people love baseball. Athletes love the obvious parts of the game. Math geeks love the statistical precision of the game and the unique way in which almost every part of a player's or team's performance can be measured and, in theory, compared to one another over literally decades. Theologians compare Americans' (and Japanese, Dominicans, etc etc etc) love of baseball to religious zealotry and explore the game's similarities to the world's religions. I would definitely prefer going to a ball game to going to church any day!

This season's Opening Day is also special for us Nats fans because we have a new park to call home. It's been fantastic to see the way baseball has been embraced by so many parts of the Washington area. Of course there's a fan base here that has been thirsting for a team for decades. But I think the team also has a management team that is committed to seeing the team thrive rather than simply extracting revenue from the fans...although I have no illusions about ownership's commitment to profits as well! The city of Washington, after realizing that the upside of having a Major League baseball stadium in the District as opposed to another FedEx field in PG County or Fairfax County, has embraced the team, ponying up north of $600 million for Nationals Park.

So it's been very exciting to be a fan of the National from the beginning and to see the incremental improvements that have been made over the past three years. I've TiVo'ed tonight's opening game against the Braves so I can watch it tomorrow (I was out for much of it tonight). Even though I disagree with most of his policies and his administration, it's always awesome to see President Bush throw out the season's first pitch. It always gives me chills because it's almost like we have the unofficial seal of approval from the President. This is Washington's team and, as a result, it's the President's team. That sounds weird, but it's true. How many other teams get the President of the United States to throw out the first pitch each season? Oh none? Yeah, that's right. say what you will, but George W knows how to throw a decent pitch from mound to catcher, which is something that most people couldn't do, especially in front of a crowd. I suspect next year when Opening Day rolls around we'll see what kind of throwing arm President Obama or Clinton II has. John McCain's injuries from the Vietnam War probably prevent him from throwing a baseball.

What, you thought I was bringing politics into this blog?! Shame on you.

Anyway, as I said, I'll have my full race report posted tomorrow sometime.