Some general thoughts on baseball

Very much looking forward to going to see the A-Braves play tonight. I loved playing baseball as a really young kid, but I grew to hate it as my adolescence drained my confidence and, in turn, my ability to play very well. (That's my official story, and I'm sticking to it! I was only bad at baseball because I lacked confidence!) Heh. Anyway. I never really liked it again until a couple of years ago when I started going to Brave's games. On a nice night, there's nothing better.

To explain why I enjoy baseball games so much, I'd like to draw a contrast to my experiences going to UGA football games. The games usually started in the late morning or afternoon, so, during the early fall at least, it was usually very hot. The mood of the crowd (at least in the students' section) is one of ravenous anger and animosity toward the other team. My worst college football experience actually took place during a very random game between the University of Alabama and Middle Tennessee State University, at which this guy beside us screamed "Fuck you! Fuck you!" at the MTSU team until the veins popped out of his neck and his face was completely red and sweaty. This, despite the fact that Bama beat MTSU by several touchdowns. You'd see this same sort of thing at UGA games, and I was convinced that, half the time, these dudes were feigning their passion. In any case, you don't often see this sort of thing at a baseball game.

Besides the angry attitude, there's the fast pace of a football game, which demands that the audience be nearly-always standing, yelling for each play. In contrast, baseball games provide an opportunity to sit and relax with a group of friends and enjoy a fairly slow-paced game. Sure, during an intense rivalry, you might see some of the same intensity that you see at every single football game, but, given the sheer number of baseball games, these moments are fewer and farther between. Baseball is the sport of the patient, whereas, in a football game, the match can be completely upended and won or lost in the course of any single play, so, as an audience member, your biting your nails for something big on each hike of the ball. In baseball, on the other hand, it always takes three pitches to get an out, always takes three outs to end the inning, so there's no point about getting worked up about any single play, save the few exceptional climaxes.

Tonight, its Braves-Marlins, second game in the series. Should be a good time to relax and enjoy a cool summer night.