Just wait...

I admit it, I was wrong. There was a time in my life when I adamantly believed a thing that I now realize was incorrect. I am a big enough person to come clean and tell the truth. I like baseball.

It's true, I once thought the game was pointless and boring. When I got married, I praised myself on the fact that in August the only sport in season is baseball so there was never a chance of my anniversary occurring on a day when there was a game I wanted to watch.

I had numerous reasons to dislike the game. The season's too long, the games are slow, the players are dull, Harry Carrey's a drunk, whatever. Of course, the fact that my allegiance was to the pathetic Cubs certainly did nothing to draw me back in. If ever there was an excuse to dismiss baseball, the Cubs were it. So I adopted the stance that I was above watching the outdated pastime and I was better off for it.

Then about 10-12 years ago I discovered a large concentration of my coworkers followed baseball pretty regularly. I still knew things about teams and players because I read Sports Illustrated every week, so I could hold my own in watercooler baseball conversation. A disproportionate number of them also followed the Cubbies, so without much effort I found myself thrust into the fraternity of lovable losers at work. (It's a little known fact that most grown men will latch onto the first area of common interest they have with another man and that topic will dominate their conversations for the rest of their relationship. It's easier than actually getting to know someone. Some guys have drinking buddies, I had baseball buddies.)

Then the great home run race of 1998 happened. The Cubs made the postseason. Suddenly, I realized that this game wasn't so bad. Dare I say, next year was almost upon us! I had to jump back on the bandwagon soon. I renewed my rooting interest in the Cubs and I patiently awaited their imminent success. My passion was rekindled by the serendipitous receipt of free tickets to a Cubs game. Our dealership was being wooed by a company that owned a luxury box at Wrigley. They hosted a contingent of us at a game in their suite. Let me recommend that to you as a terrific way to experience the Friendly Confines.

After a few years of relatively lukewarm fandom, I thought it would be nice to have my sons enjoy rooting for the Cubs with me. And of course, the recent upturn in the team's competitiveness was a good selling point. We all watched the Cubs as much as we could during the 2003 season. Their malleable minds absorbed the new experience of claiming a team as their own, and they threw themselves into it with exuberance. As young boys are prone to, they took in as much information about their new team as they could. I enjoyed not just the team's performance, but the boys' excitement as well. We, along with the rest of Cub nation, got caught up in the pennant race and were summarily crushed with their subsequent collapse. Nevertheless, a seed was planted.

Fast forward a couple of years. Drew has more Cubs clothing in his closet than I've had in my life. David can give you career statistics or jersey numbers of any number of players. I have created fans. (Of course the argument can be made that I failed them as a father by making them Cub fans, but that's a whole other topic) I have had the privilege of taking them to two games at Wrigley Field. I wish we could go more often, but I guess the rarity of such an occasion makes each time more valuable and memorable.

Now I find myself actually paying attention (a little) to spring training games. I worry that Mark Prior won't make the rotation, or Alfonso Soriano will have trouble adjusting to center field, or Aramis Ramierez won't give 100% every game. I wonder if Kerry Wood can turn into the All Star closer I think he can be. I wonder if Lou Pinella can motivate his players. I wonder if this year...is Next Year.

The simplicity and beauty of the game has lured me back in. What a beautiful vision to see the lush green grass of the outfield, the brightness of the foul lines, the asymmetry of the outfields walls from one park to the next. The players are visible, not buried under equipment. The action is reasonably paced, slow enough that you can drift away for a little while and fast enough that you get captured by the excitement. The game is simple enough to explain it to a child, but complicated enough that you can drive yourself crazy trying to guess strategy. It's a common interest that I can share with my boys now and in the future. The game has lasted for 120 years and it's outlasted my indifference. I'm back in the fold and I don't want to wait 'til next year. I can't wait 'til this year.

AWANA Games recap

While all good things must come to an end, there are some winning streaks that are historic.
January 20, 1968 - The University of Houston defeats UCLA to end the Bruins 47 game winning streak.
November 16, 1957 - Oklahoma falls to Notre Dame for their first defeat in 44 games.
January 10, 1972 - The Milwaukee Bucks snap the Los Angeles Lakers 33 game winning streak.
March 3, 2007 - Drew Leman does not win the 4-way tug of war at the AWANA Games.

This was a day of surprises at the AWANA Games. Not only did Drew fail to win the tug of war for the first time in his AG career, but Rachel announced her presence as a strong competitor. When she made her way onto the circle to participate in the marathon relay (3 runners, 2 laps each) we thought there was some mistake. She was scheduled to run the middle leg of the race. Our first runner established a slight lead and handed the baton off to Rachel. She then proceeded to run a terrific couple of laps around the circle to help her team to the win. Her form was great, the baton exchange was clean, and she was fast! Who knew?

Drew participated in four out of the ten events (Beanbag Relay, Beanbag Bonanza, Four-way Tug, Balloon Relay - for those of you scoring at home), and Rachel in five out of ten (same as Drew plus the Marathon Relay). Both teams did very well and they finished either first or second in most events. Our nemesis was the club from First Baptist Church in Fairbury, who seemed to take first every time we took second. When it was all over, our boys team trailed first-place Fairbury by 12 points while our girls team edged them out by a scant two points to claim the title. So Drew not only failed to win “his” event, but his sister came away with a first-place medal while he only got a second-place ribbon. He was not a happy young man for a while. The trip to Pizza Hut brought him around. Rachel, on the other hand, was on top of the world.

Both of the kids did a great job in their events. We can’t complain about the effort they gave or the sportsmanship they showed. Like any true Cubs fan, we can't wait until next year.