BASEBALL'S BACK (and i'm feeling slightly melancholy)

I adore it when people say that baseball is America’s pastime. It may have been true 65 years ago but I would say that right now gambling on baseball is a much bigger pastime than baseball itself, and gambling on football is assuredly more popular than both of them combined. Gaming, apathy, and abusing waitstaff would blow baseball out of the water in an America’s pastime competition. But I’ve never minded that. I appreciate the ultimate meaninglessness of baseball more and more as each Opening Day arrives.

As I write this, I’m watching a game I don’t care about beyond wanting to see the Cardinals lose (EDIT: Boooooo they won, the Twins disappoint yet again). It’s being displayed on my wonderful CRT television, on the futon that serves as the basis of my entertainment center. I’m only kind of watching it; it’s mostly for background noise and after I’m done writing this, I’m gonna start making a casserole for dinner. It’s the perfect sport for all this. Of course, when my team (the Cubs) comes on later tonight, I’m gonna be glued to the screen. They’re starting Opening Day down 0-2, which is very funny to me and I would very much like them to make it 1-2 and I’ve missed my baseball guys very much. I hope they do well and have fun and beat the shit out of the other guys. I hate whoever the guys are that we’re playing tonight, I can’t remember. But when I need to, I can shift baseball into the background again and it fits there just as well. It’s extremely comforting and it feels funny that that’s the case but I need all the comfort I can get lately.

It’s funny that any of it is happening at a professional level and it’s taken so seriously. I love that guys will get so upset at this silly game that they’ll punch their own hands apart. And I don’t want to detract from the vast amount of talent and athleticism these guys all have! I would argue the silliness enhances the seriousness. It wouldn’t be serious if it wasn’t so silly. It’s a sport full of contradictions like that. I’m glad to have it back.

Nicky Flowers - 03/27/25 - If only they'd quit it with the regional cable brodcast blackouts... and the other problems too. - (send any comments/questions to hello at nickyflowers dot com)