In the past week, Americans have had the opportunity to see and hear the candidates for Presidency on television in a debate setting. They have also had the chance to watch some amazing playoff baseball. Inevitably, the two went head-to-head, forcing the viewer to choose between politics and sports. I just found out that in St Louis, the game had more viewers than the debate. I write the following post unashamedly...
I chose baseball.
I chose to forego hearing two men talk about the future of our nation.
I chose to watch teams of men hurl a ball and swing a stick and run around.
I chose to think about hit-n-run opportunities, sacrifice flies and double playballs.
I chose to eat bratwurst and nachos and ice cream.
I chose to relish the moments after victory was achieved.
I chose to allow myself to feel as if I were a part of the team.
I chose to doubt a managerial move and praise another one.
I chose to wish for one man to fail in a clutch spot, hoping for another's success.
I chose to think about pitch counts, on-base-percentage and bullpen strategies.
Call me what you want: uninformed, unpatriotic, unconcerned...
While you are busy thinking of adjectives and adverbs, I am thinking of tomorrow's game.
You fire your shots of disappointment and I will be thinking of Clemen's heat that is coming.
I don't care what you say - I choose baseball.
Is that a juvenile thing to say?
Is that an immature attitude to have?
Why?
Is it so wrong that I choose to relax and enjoy a few hours of my time, watching my favorite team play a game I love? Is it wrong to want to see this portion of history unfold? Is it bad of me to worry more about a starting pitcher's performance than what a politician is saying on the other channel? On the contrary, I think that if I were to miss the game I would regret it too much. (Unless of course I had something else going on that required my attention.)
Do I think that the debates are important? Sure.
Do I think that some people will garner a lot from them? It's possible.
Do I feel like I have missed anything? Absolutely not.
Why would I choose to hear the same lines repeated time and time again with a different set of words, when I can be watching something completely new as it is happening? I suppose I could always watch the replays and highlights, or check the box score in the paper and get a synopsis of what happened. Or I could ask my coworker who won and get a simple answer. But that does not do the game justice - it does not allow me to connect as a fan with "my team".
Instead, I watch the game live. I hold my breath. I shout. I clap. I smile. I get frustrated. I do all these things because I love the moments when something great is accomplished and our fans acknowledge it with a standing ovation. I love it when a batter works a count from 0-2, fouls off 4 pitches, and gets a walk. I love it when the announcer is talking about how amazing a player is and then that player confirms it in dramatic fashion.
Don't misunderstand me here - the debates are important.
Some people need to tune into these verbal sparrings.
Some people should be glued to their sets to hear what is said about healthcare reform.
I am not one of them.
I do not need to see or hear anything during the debate. I choose to read the transcript as time allows in the days following. I don't care if a man raises his eyebrow or smiles at the camera or sweats profusely or anything else physically. If a man speaks candidly, respectfully and honestly about things, then people will recognize that. If a man speaks on the issues at hand, and explains his plan, then I can read all about it the next day. I don't care if the man (or woman) is attractive, physically disabled or has HIV. If they relate to me on the issues I am concerned about, I will vote for them.
Sure a debate is good, but the ballgame was better.
The politician's words will be printed all over tomorrow, but the feeling I get as a ball streaks through the night sky is fixed in a moment. It cannot be reproduced. You can replay it, show it from 16 different angles and slow it down to analyze the rotation of the seams, but it's that initial moment, as it is happening live, that keeps me from watching the debates. I have invested emotion into the game at that point, so it means something more to me.
I like to think of it this way:
I choose to have fun watching men have fun. The words of other men who are working hard and getting grilled by others will still be the same words tomorrow. And I can watch a replay of that if I want to and it won't lose any of the emotion of the moment.
So in this case, I cast my vote for baseball.
The President can wait until tomorrow...
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