Sam Geati is a snow bird who spent part of the winter in Ft. Myers, FL. Here’s his report on the opening day for the Boston Red Sox.
It’s late February in Ft. Myers, and I’m at JetBlue Park for the first game of Spring Training between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. For true baseball fans, this is the “hope springs eternal” day, as fans come from as far away as Canada to watch grown men play a boy’s game, one that doesn’t even count in the standings.
The legions that are “Red Sox Nation” are here decked out in their hats and jerseys pledging allegiance to their Bean Town boys. They are just as avid and devoted as the fans of the perennial losers from my town, the Chicago Cubs, as evidenced by the wearing of jerseys bearing the names of long-gone favorites.
Fans watch a spring training game. (Sam Geati I Sun Day Photo)
The Red Sox, much like the Cubs, had a pretty disastrous year in 2012. They have a new manager and are missing some of last year’s stars. But baseball fans rebound each spring and are full of new hope for a winning season. The “wait until next year” time is up; it’s time to start anew.
I listen to the comments and cheers of the fans around me and can’t help but chuckle. I hear stuff like, “He hit 23 homers last year; should do 30 this time around,” and “Oh, his fastball is popping,” and “We gotta beat the stinkin’ Yanks this year.”
To show how devoted these fans are, the ticket prices for these truly exhibition games range from $10 to $42. I’m not a fan of this team and I forked over $25 to support these financially deprived athletes and their greedy owners. But I’m a baseball fan of seven decades; this stuff never gets out of our blood. I needed this “fix” to prime myself for the coming season of cheering for our Chicago teams.
Yeah, I’m one of those who began life as a Sox fan, but when I was married and had children to pass on my addiction to baseball, I brought them to the easiest place to see a ball game. At the time, it was Wrigley Field. The Sox were horrendous in those years, and the Cubs were fun to watch.
Let’s face it, it’s all about entertainment! You wouldn’t pay big bucks to watch a movie that received a half a star, would you? My aim was to expose the kids to this game I loved to play and watch. It’s not much different than my love for music and the way I have attempted to steer my offspring and grandkids to what I feel are the most entertaining and talented musicians and performers.
The Red Sox and their sponsor have gone all out to create a “mini” Fenway Park, complete with a downsized version of the “Green Monster,” a tall wall with a built-in, old-style scoreboard. During each half-inning, a guy comes out to manually adjust it. They even have food stands that serve traditional Boston fare, like lobster rolls.
The scoreboard at Jet Blue Park (Sam Geati I Sun Day Photo)
The game is pretty boring for the first six innings until both teams start to get some hits, including the first homers of the spring. I’m there with relatives, including a couple of little guys who are mostly bored until the crowd gets into singing with Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and waves their arms to the music. It was at this point that I had to get up and walk around the stadium and enjoy the surroundings and the 84-degree weather.
Even though I was watching two teams that didn’t interest me, I was caught up in the magic that is baseball. Yes, the game and the players have changed greatly since my childhood days, but the nostalgia is real and the memories that come back to me flood my body with a warm feeling. As the late, great Harry Carey once said, “You can’t beat fun at the ole ball park.”
