Generally not moved by the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day ceremonies, the Giants yesterday staged a brilliant and emotional show that brought childhood memories flooding back and welled up deep emotions in me that I had forgotten about.
The whole show, though 45 minutes long, seemed to go by too quickly.
As each former All Star was announced, it seemed every memory I had of him came rushing back nearly making me dizzy. The next being announced all too quickly, not giving me enough time to reminisce. Some of the Old Timers were were before my time though I had read about them. As the now grey haired All Stars marched out onto the field, it reminded me just how long I have been in love with this team. Emotions ran high as Willie McCovey was introduced. This man was larger than life, a God and a living legend to me as a child. I once witnessed him hit a home run off the Longines clock in right field before the 'Stick was enclosed. To see him on crutches...
Then came the moment when I lost it. The introduction of my boyhood hero and the greatest to ever play the game, Willie Mays, being introduced with his godson and the greatest player of our time, Barry Bonds. They came out of the dugout hand in hand. At this point, my wife looked at me and said,"I knew there was something that could make you cry". Then she said, "God Bless Baseball".
I agree. God Bless Baseball and the Giants. The memories stirred up by this beautiful and touching ceremony still have not ceased.
2 comments:
Willie Mays is an all-star. He deserves to be up there with the rest of the Giants' mega-stars. But I cry too. I cry when I see Barry Bonds up there disgracing Willie's name and every baseball players earnest record. Willie must realize that Barry is a fraud. For years we looked at people like Pete Rose and the Chicago Black Sox as baseball's villains - now its Barry Bonds, a cheater, a fraud who is the true Giant among frauds. Nothing more or less. Too bad Bud Selig doesn't have any guts (or anything else).
Slammin' Sammy's back. Is he excluded because he blows kisses? Bonds is the media scapegoat for an entire era of steroid use that goes way beyond what MLB allows us to know. Baseball is just as guilty because they turned their heads the other way in order to get people back to the games they had lost due to the strike in '94. Don't be so narrow minded.
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