Spring Fever

We focused on the government for awhile, so lets shift gears onto something else...

To be honest, I'm a little down today. One year ago, starting today, I had one of the best months of my life. Normally, I hate March. Its a little better since I met my wife, since her birthday is this month. But that's one day out of 30 very long days. March has no holidays, football season is over, and baseball season is still a month away. Even C.S. Lewis called it the "in between" time of year.

So what happened a year ago to make it the best month ever? Well, if you don't know, last year at this time I was in Florida. What's so special about being in Florida during the month of March? Spring Training baseball! I absolutely loved it! One has to understand that to go to a Spring Training game is like taking a step back in time.

Unfortunately, because our society is so fast-paced, the National Pastime has gone from being the nation's obsession to being the only thing to watch on TV during the summer within just a 100 years. But Spring Training is different.

Here's what is beautiful about going to Spring Training baseball games: The ballparks are small, quaint and intimate. Granted, most are for minor league teams, but when the professionals who have mastered the hardest sport in the world takes the field, its something special.

Speaking of the players, part of the loss of intrigue with baseball is because of the players, their attitudes and their large salaries. Players like Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco make you cringe. But during spring training, they're like kids again. There's a gleam in their eye. Maybe its the small ballpark feel, but they act as though they have rediscovered what makes baseball beautiful. In a sense, its a month-long Renaissance fair.

Then there are the fans. How wonderful it is to go to a game where people actually care about the game itself. Most people I know go to baseball games because its outdoors, they can eat bad food, drink lots of beer, and get loud and rowdy without anyone caring. But again Spring Training is different in this area. Here, the fans are serious. Most of them are season ticket holders who have taken a month off of work and followed their team out to Florida or Arizona. When I went to see the Blue Jays, I was the only vehicle with an American license plate. All the other cars were from Ontario! They're here to see the tendencies of their players. They're here to judge minor league prospects who have been invited to join the Major League team. Scouts fill up the seats behind home plate, but fans are out there too. They have their scorecards, their stopwatches and, yes, even their radar guns.

The best part occurs during the game itself. The fans will talk and get up in between innings. But when that first batter walks towards the box, and the umpire calls, "Play ball!", a deathly silence comes over the crowd. Something so rare happens. Something that stopped happening decades ago. EVERY EYE IS ON THE GAME! Baseball fans talk about the anticipation of every pitch, but brother let me tell you, unless you've been to a Spring Training game, you don't know what anticipation is. When the bat connects with the ball, the crack echos through the stadium, the fans gasp, and when ball hits the ground, or the snap is heard of the ball hitting the leather glove, the crowd explodes into a roar. Talk about excitement! A music instructor once used to tell me, "Dynamic contrast will enhance and beautify your show". It doesn't get more dynamic than that!

Alas, this year I'm back in Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii might be considered paradise to many, but to me it might as well be Alcatraz for this month. I'll still see games played by UH. But as I was reminded last week when I saw them play the University of San Francisco, the fans are few, and those that do show up don't understand the game. They fill themselves up with alcohol and then shout obscenities at the visiting team, or even their home team if they're losing.

Often times I have wondered if I have truly missed enjoying a moment. When I was a civilian, did I truly enjoy my freedom? No, I took advantage of it. When I was at Biola as a student did I make the most of it? I met some great people and made friendships that I'll have with me for the rest of my life, but I was foolish with my studies and so my answer must be no, and I will live with that regret forever.

But while in Florida, everyday I reminded myself that this was temporary and it was special. I knew that life had not been this good in a long time (I actually thank God that my wife was not able to stay with me, otherwise I would not want to leave). I made sure to enjoy every second and I think I did. But even so, I still miss it very much. Spring Training was the climax of my time there. I saw things during that month that most of society hasn't seen in a century.