Books by Rob J. Quinn
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Play Ball . . . Finally!

The crack of the bat is what I’m looking forward to the most. I’ll enjoy squeaking sneakers on the basketball court, maybe even the sound of a good check into the boards on the ice. But more than anything as sports return, I’m looking forward to the sound of a baseball being smacked into the outfield for a base hit.

It might be a while before we can actually go out
to the ballgame, but it’s always fun. (This is me
in June 2016.)

It’s summer. It’s the end of July. Sitting down and watching a baseball game is a normal part of my life this time of year.

I’m hoping—probably against all hope—that the Phillies finally playing their long-delayed opener is another step back to normalcy. I’m looking forward to thinking about pitching matchups, who’s hitting where in the lineup, and, if we’re lucky, where we are in the standings. Thinking about run lines and money lines wouldn’t be bad either. It will certainly be a welcome change to the endless stream of noise about the “surging” coronavirus case count, governors imposing new restrictions, and, the media favorite, warnings of a second wave. (I must have missed the end of the first wave.)

I’m not sticking my head in the sand. I wear a mask (actually a face shield) where required, give people space, and wash my hands. But I will not embrace it as a “new normal.”

At the beginning of the shutdown, we were instantly flooded with messages making it seem like staying home was the brave and noble thing to do. But we couldn’t even just veg at home and watch television without being flooded with commercials and celebrity videos and “concerts” urging us to stay home. We were “in this together,” “staying home saving lives,” and “apart, together.” Americans would never cower in their homes . . . we’d do it like bad asses!

It’s just not something I could buy into. Act like you have a virus and that everyone else does too. Keep six feet apart. Stay home as much as possible.

A temporary reality? Ok.

But normal?

No, thank you. I’ve had enough trouble finding social opportunities in my life, I don’t want government-imposed isolation. I think people walking around staring at their phones has done enough to dehumanize us, we can’t do away with the basic instinct to want human contact.

And, no, I’m not about to tout some ridiculous conspiracy theory. That’s apparently become the purpose of Twitter. (Psst, no one is doing their show from home on house arrest for the vile garbage tweeted out daily about celebrities and there’s not a Deep State.) Before Jack Dorsey worries about evaluating presidential tweets as potentially misleading . . . duh . . . maybe he should clean up his overall platform. (I saw news as I worked on this post that Twitter is doing just that—give credit where it’s due!)

I just want some normalcy. Actual normalcy.

Wearing my face shield
makes me want to say,
“Luke, I am your father.”
I was so desperate for sports I watched exhibition games. Do you know how weird exhibition baseball games are? I didn’t. I saw an inning continue after the third out, another end on a home run (prior to the ninth), and extra innings in a game that wasn’t tie. And it was still the best thing on television.

Sports is so much more than the game. It’s something to talk about to the guy at the gym. It’s texting my buddy during the games. Baseball is talking about the season, even this season, and getting pulled into an over/under bet for drinks on the Phils win total by my buddy. It’s having the game on in the background while doing other things. Sometimes it’s even missing half the game because you dozed off and not caring.

Sports bring us together like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. My mom will still talk about watching the 1980 Phillies World Series champions because it was the only time the whole family was together rooting for the same team that won. People who don’t even like sports will get swept up in the excitement of a local team making a playoff run.

Most of all, sports are fun. Games are something to look forward to, get excited about, lose yourself and forget about reality for a while. And let’s face it, they can just be something to watch. I think we could all use that right now.

With fingers metaphorically crossed, I’m hoping sports are back—permanently.

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