FanNation

The other day, though, I turned on ESPN at lunchtime and was surprised to see baseball. Where I am, it's still wintry and cold and I was expecting to see yet another basketball game. Instead, I saw blue skies, sunshine, perfectly kept green grass - the epitome of a laidback spring afternoon. It was fabulous.

I grew up watching baseball; as a kid, Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles was like the first weekend of college football is now - one of my favorite days of the year, something to get excited about. Dad would boil up some hot dogs (it was still too cold to fire up the grill); add a cold Coke and some chips and it was the perfect meal for watching the game. I even remember one elementary school teacher, another diehard O's fan, canceling our math lesson so we could watch an afternoon game.

Orioles baseball hasn't been inspiring or exciting for quite some time and after several seasons announcing and keeping score for my college's team, I've been a little burned out. There's no time limit in baseball, and if it's not a good matchup, boring games can drag on far longer than necessary. Years after eagerly anticipating the first pitch, I'm embarrassed to admit I can't even say, off the top of my head, who won the World Series last year.

Maybe it was the beautiful weather, hinting that spring would be here soon. Maybe it was the memories of playing softball into the evenings before hitting the snack bar for a hot dog and a snow cone. Maybe it was the feeling of hope and anticipation and of a new season starting. Maybe I was just glad it wasn't another basketball game. Whatever it was, when I turned on the tv the other afternoon, my mood instantly improved. For the first time in years, I'm looking forward to hearing "Play ball!"