Sports...

are kind of my life. I like to think that my life is more than just sports, or rather I need to think that my life is more than just sports. I like to think of myself as a renaissance man, interested in not just “manly” pursuits such as sports, but also many other things such as literature, food, music, even the theatre has occasionally been graced with my presence. That said, nothing captures my time and attention like sports. Part of this is, of course, that sports are a huge part of my job. I have spent hours and even days obsessing about a swim meet, or even a single race in a meet. I have spent sleepless nights trying to find a way to save one more hundredth of a second from a race that last less time than it has taken you to read this entry. But even more than this, cheering for my teams utterly and totally captivates me…and lately I have had a lot to cheer about.

The Tigers are good. They have made their way to the World Series for only the second time in my life, and the first time since I was three, living on Aleda. The metioric rise of the Tigers has captured the attention of people throughout the State, making fans out of people that have largely ignored the sport of baseball in recent years. The Tigers have been playing great baseball all season, but there was always a doubt in the back of many of our minds. They started the year so well and then faltered down the stretch. Many of us had the thought that oh no, here we go again. Just as they were getting our hopes up, they were going to let us down again. All they had to do was win one of their last five games to clinch the division. How many did they win? None! But then something strange happened, they started to win again. After an initial loss to the Yankees, they have since streaked through 7 straight victories and now find themselves in the World Series.

The Series starts Saturday and I find that I miss having a game at night to come home to in their week off. I know that I will watch each and every one of the World Series games and will look forward to a call from my dad following the final out so that we can go over the highlights and the lowlights. THis is just one of the many reasons why I love sports. They have brought me places that I would not have found myself if it were not for their presence. Lately, this has been one more thing to connect over. The Tigers have been a bond that so many of us in Michigan share. They are a mode of communication with complete strangers. Sitting in any public area, you can mutter… “how bout them Tigers” and you will suddenly have everyone around you to talk to. Sports are one of our countries primary ways of connection. The stadium’s of our pro teams are a place of community. The major sports have a uniformity and, for the most part, there is prevelant understanding of rules and how to play the game. These commonalities help form a connection between socio-economic groups that typically would have very little in common. Rich and poor, black and white, educated and uneducated in Michigan have united to cheer on our Tigers, and they have made no sign of letting us all down. GO TIGERS!