Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I took the picture above a few years back in Arlington, Texas. I had great seats, but it was SO HOT that I took to wandering around the stadium. I liked this picture zoomed in from the top of the right-field foul pole. It's Vladimir Guerrero, last night's home run derby champion, fouling off a pitch on one of his trademark wild swings.
I love sports. Last night, I took advantage of having nothing big to do and sat on the couch and watched the home run derby on ESPN. My man, Pujols, almost sneaked his way into the championship round (which, of course, I think he would have won!), but in the end, Vlad emerged from the field of eight competitors to take the trophy.
I enjoyed the prognosticators. Well, I enjoyed how wrong they were. The field of experts had five of the eight players chosen to win it all, but the final two were two of the three no one had picked (despite listening to Crazy Joe Morgan, who picked Vlad in the second round because his initial pick came in last place... you would've thought Joe had Vlad all along!).
I think that's one of my favorite things about sports: you just never know. You can study the game, study the players, study the ballpark, study the weather, and make the most logical prediction. And be dead wrong.
This is why I don't like movies as much as sports - someone knows the script. This is why I don't like concerts as much as sports - Lee Greenwood sang "God Bless the U.S.A," what a shocker!!! In sports, you have to play the game, and who knows who will really come through when the game is on the line.
And sports reflect life.
I have a plan for today, this Tuesday the 10th of July, but who knows how it will really turn out? I could guess how today will go, but that's all it really is: an educated guess.
Maybe today will be a landmark day. No one could imagine it, but maybe today is the day that Al Sturgeon comes through in the clutch for all humanity. Maybe today is the day that will change the world in an important way.
The sun is shining, there's green grass on the field, and the day awaits. Time to lace up the shoes and get into the game.
