Whisked Away

A couple days ago I read Joe Posnanski's blog post about watching Tom Watson's run at the British Open this year (you can find it at joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog)and completely agreed with his statement about sports taking us to another world. So I just wanted to say a few words of my own about it.
I was at a wedding on Friday night when a friend turned to me, and said "Guess where I was last night?" Knowing we both share a love for baseball I guessed Fenway. Nope. Hmm?...The Royals game? Nope. (Side thought...Who would be bragging about that right now). "I was at U.S. Cellular", he said. It hit me like a ton of bricks how cool that was. For those of you who don't know, my friend watched Mark Buerhle pitch a perfect game. Lucky! And apparently he's seen two no-hitters in person. What I wouldn't give to have that kind of luck!
But that's what happens in sports. This British Open was no different than any other year, except that Tom Watson decided to give every sports fan a dream weekend of what golf used to be: a gentleman's game (and he did it to the very end). Mark Buerhle went out on his normal rest, just wanting to win one for the team; just doing his job. Well, he did it alright. And to the delight of all sports fans he achieved perfection.
It got me thinking about what is majestic about sports. I love how everyone has a favorite play. Sports gives us an adventure, and even better an adventure to live. So yeah, watching the Red Sox finally win in 2004 was amazing, and no, I will never forget the joy that Luis Gonzalez's bloop single on Mariano Rivera in 2001 still brings me, but I love my own sports stories even more. I was just talking with a former teacher about how all of my friends and I would play football at Loose Park on Sundays. I'll never forget how pumped I was, and how some new guys came and dubbed me "Superman". Anyone who has spent 30 minutes playing catch with me has heard the story of the Cigar Catch. Yeah, it is that legendary. It deserves a name like that.
Sports gives joy incomparable to many things in this technology driven world. Sometimes it's nice to get away from being in touch with everybody and take a buddy or two and enjoy a little struggle, a little competition. Believe me, it will make life a little more full.