Three Strikes, I'm Out

I grew up in a house with no (grown) men and lots of sports. Baseball and football, mostly. My aunt loved the Giants and the Bears, and my mom loved the Patriots. They watched football every Sunday. I guess Mondays too. Watched the Celtics, too. Maybe a little Bruins action.

Baseball was a different love affair. My aunt, specifically, had a major crush on Ted Williams. No clue why. But growing up, she had a life-size cardboard cutout of him - her growing up, not mine. I don't really get it. And I don't remember them watching it on TV very often. 

She collected baseball cards. She got the Topps.  She was collecting them to leave a legacy for my brother (omg, they were so into collecting. Today, that's called Hoarders). I got to collect them as well, but I got the Fleers. I loved the excitement of opening the packages, then sliding them into the sleeves of the binders, checking them off the list........oh crap. I am starting to think about the feelings this brings up. Aside from the fun of family time...I loved the organizational, process-oriented aspect. This epiphany is totally derailing the purpose of this post and forcing me to realize where my OCD skills began.

Back to business...

Growing up in a house where sports mattered, how did I end up being completely apathetic? I'd rather cut my eyes out than watch a baseball game. I really don't enjoy it. There are too many stats to know. I think have the fun for true fans is the expectation of what the players do. This guy always hits left. That pitcher throws curve balls. For me, it's just too long and too slow. I very much love the ball parks, the history, the energy, the uniforms. Unfortunately, I dig pinstripes. Shhh, don't tell the Red Sox fans. I like football and basketball when watching live, but not on TV. I will go to games for company events or if they are free, but only because it's like a huge beer garden and I am usually with awesome people. That said, I will be pretty happy if I can make it through the summer without a game.

I do hope my aunt got to meet Ted in heaven...that sure would have been heaven for her.