Baseball

It's finally baseball season and I couldn't be happier! When the Orioles are playing, you can bet that our TV or car radio will be tuned in. And there's nothing better than going to Camden Yards to catch a game... it's definitely one of my favorite things to do during the summer! There's probably no way that I could NOT love baseball, considering that my dad was the greatest pitcher that ever lived (in my opinion anyways). And I grew up romping around the ballpark, my clothes turning bright orange from the dirt. There was even a picture of me in the local paper when I was a year old: at the ballpark with my mom, watching dad play. He got Jessica and I into softball for a few years... but it turns out that I didn't inherit his natural talent. That's most likely due to the fact that my arms are like string beans! But boy, could I run those bases! Track and field was definitely a much better fit!

At first, the Braves were my team. Heck, they're AMERICA's team! (Eric hates it when I say that!) I remember very clearly the day that I first saw my favorite player. I was watching the Braves game on TV in 7th grade and he stepped up to the plate. Of course, being a typical middle schooler, I thought, Hey this guy is cute! But then I saw his number: 8. It was fate! Eight is my lucky number. That sealed the deal: Javy Lopez was going to be my favorite player! I plastered my walls with newspaper articles about him and the Braves, along with a huge poster. I watched as many games as I could, although I never made it to a live game in Atlanta. I did, however, get to see him play against the Rockies when I lived in Colorado. That was my 16th birthday present from my parents: club seats to a Rockies vs. Braves game with 3 of my friends. And of course, now I see him play all the time since he's with the Orioles and I live near Baltimore. What a day that was when I found out that we were going to be living in the same city!!

Now, if you're thinking this is weird that I'm talking about this guy even though I'm married, don't worry. Eric knows. He even took pictures of him for me when the Braves were playing the Orioles and I was still living in SC. And for my 21st birthday, Eric gave me one of the best gifts ever: tickets to a Braves game in Atlanta! I was SO excited because I lived so close but I had never been. Well, I've still never been. We drove out to Atlanta, had a nice dinner and then headed over to the ballpark with plenty of time to spare before the first pitch. The only problem was: there was no where to park! It seems hard to believe, and sometimes I still don't believe it actually happened, but it's true... we drove around that stadium for over an hour! We drove, and drove, and drove. Eventually, after we had already heard the national anthem playing as we sat outside in the traffic with our windows down, we decided to drive downtown and take the MARTA back to the stadium. But traffic was so bad and we didn't even know where to go. By that time it was about the 4th inning and we just gave up. Extremely depressed, we ended up at a Chili's and sat at the bar, got some drinks, ate some chips and salsa and watched the rest of the game on TV. But it ended up being such a great memory somehow and we love to laugh about it now! And to this day, Chili's is one of our favorite restaurants and we have to get the chips and salsa every time we go.

Anyways, Javy is still my favorite player, but for different reasons than at first. He turned out to be a great player, which I couldn't have known when I picked him out for his looks and his number. It's not like I would faint if I saw him or anything crazy like that. I'm not really the type to care about celebrities or have crushes on movie stars. But I am glad that he plays for the O's now. And I'm really glad that I have a husband who loves baseball as much as I do! He loves to run around the house singing his favorite song: "O-R-I-O-L-E-S, Magic, Magic, Magic, Magic!" Makes me laugh every time!