Remember when?

I was just browsing one of the best sites on the web--ESPN. The main page is dedicated to remembering what Cal Ripken did TEN YEARS ago today. Has it been 10 YEARS??? Good gravy! I remember sitting in my living room watching that game with Dad. What a magical moment in sports history!

In a day and age of the pampered, overpaid, pansy major leaguer, old school men like Cal Ripken are to be that much more appreciated. My grandfather (AKA Gramps) passed away over 3 years ago. He played Triple A ball for the Cubs, and loved the game enough to play for dang near nothing. All of those guys did. Unfortunately, he got hurt and didn't make it to the majors. After he died, his town's local newspaper printed a front-page story entitled "Field of Dreams" in honor of his life.

I am currently looking at a team photo of Gramps' Triple A team running onto the field without a worry. He was 20 years young the day this picture was taken. It is black and white, and it is fading. I keep it on my desk so that I will see it on a daily basis, a reminder of how fleeting this life is.

Baseball is nowhere near what it used to be. Sure, there are glimmers of purity out there. I love guys like Jason Varitek, John Smoltz, Jim Thome, Craig Biggio, John Kruk, etc.. I love those guys that don't give a crap what they look like. They get down and dirty. Santana, the stud pitcher from the Twins, supposedly turned down a great deal of money to stay in Minnesota because he loved the fans. Stories like that still keep me around the game.

I was blessed to have gotten the opportunity to go to Cooperstown with Dad, Gramps, and Grandaddy the year before Gramps died. Walking through those halls and seeing all of those pictures created such a surreal feeling. Those guys were larger than life. I'd give almost anything to go back and see a game played purely out of love for it.

Here's to the Cal Ripkens who will never get noticed! I love watching the Triple A team play here in Louisville, partly out of sentiment, but mostly because it is as close to being as pure as the game once was as I can find today.

Does anybody else out there love pure sport--dirt, grime, sweat, tears, blood, grass fields, blisters, the smell of hot dogs, peanuts, cracker jacks, autographs, heroes, the hit-and-run, plate collisions, diving catches, walk-off dingers, old scoreboards, steel spikes, dugout chants, rally caps, day games, dust, dirty uniforms, playing in the rain, box scores, newspapers, the smell of the glove, the squeeking of shoes on the court, the smell of popcorn in old high school gymns, cheerleading cheers, whistles, charges taken, blocked shots, the smell of a waxed court, the cutting down of the nets, end zone celebrations, etc, etc, etc..... ??

What are some of your favorite sports memories??

We miss you Cal!