The Dog Days of Summer

In the last few weeks in sports, we've crowned champions, drafted a Dunking Ninja, watched Roger Federer do something he's never done (and it wasn't good), and seen two leagues' negotiations progress with the kind of monotony only reserved for root canals. After the dust kicked up from Wimbledon's courts settles, we will be left with a seemingly barren sports landscape in the middle of the hot and humid summer. Of the four major professional sports in the US, only one dares to march through the hottest months of the year. The two best (in my opinion) golf tournaments of the year have already happened, the US men's soccer team will go into a long hibernation, and the last tennis major won't be played until Labor Day.



Most would think we've hit a bit of a snafu in the wonderful world of sports. And while there may be a lack of important events, this is what separates the real fans from the impersonators. While it has become incredibly lame in recent years, MLB's All-Star Game is still interesting enough to watch. The Women's World Cup is surprisingly interesting, though probably hard to watch if you aren't into soccer. And there's always the hot-dog eating contest on the 4th of July.

In a summer without a Men's World Cup or a Summer Olympiad, it is hard to find much else on in the sporting world. I know the X-Games are quickly approaching us... Wait, they are? Ok, well at least football starts soon right? Oh, wait, they still haven't signed a CBA and there's an impending lock-out? Crap. How about hockey and basketball? No one cares about the former? Oh yea, I forgot this was America. And the latter might also have a lock-out? Well, this gets better and better doesn't it?

It currently appears as though the only thing to keep sports fans alive and kicking is our old past time. That's right Ray. Baseball.

"And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."

- Terence Mann (aka James Earl Jones) in Field of Dreams

Yep, I'm a romantic when it comes to baseball. I love watching the Cardinals slog through the summer days to see if the team has what it takes to hoist the championship trophy come October. I love the crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, and the sweat on your back from sitting in 100 degree temperatures at Busch watching a game.

I know most people think the game is out-dated. That it's boring to watch, doesn't have any action, that baseball players aren't athletes. But those are the ones who don't understand the game. All its intricacies, stratagems, and minute details beautifully laid out on the diamond like a great novel waiting to be written. Every game is like an extended drama being played out before your very eyes. A pitcher battling inner demons on the mound, former teammates now turned adversaries, injuries, errors, and gaffes. And the chance at redemption for the guy who made a costly error in the 8th as he steps to the plate in the 9th. Nothing is like baseball.

I know football is considered America's game now. That it makes the money and gets the ratings. That baseball stadiums are 1/3 full for games and a lot of people are beginning to show apathy towards the game. But none of the major sports compare to baseball. A 162 game grind, spiraling through the brutal heat of July and August, which no other major sport dares to do, testing not only the physical endurance of its participants, but their mental endurance as well. And seeing who can come out the other side on top of their division and pursue the crown in October.

While there may not be a lot going on in the world of sports, remember that there is one show in town that's been around a lot longer than the others. Though the game may have been tarnished the last decade, that doesn't take away from its fundamental foundations. It's the original game of the masses. It broke down stereotypes and racism. It survived two world wars. It's a game of inches. It's pitching duels and comeback stories. It's your team winning the World Series. It's the smell of the grass, the roar of the crowd as the ball goes to the warning track, and a father telling his son about the "good old days." It's America's favorite past time.

It's baseball.