SOC: Spring Training

Periodic Stream of Consciousness (SOC) posts are a “feature” that will be developed by choosing a topic and taking 5-10 minutes to gather the fluid musings of an amateur creative. The results are entirely self-serving, but perhaps amusing to those who care to read on.

The current topic is Major League Baseball’s Spring Training. After a recent trip to Arizona to experience the Cactus League, a number of thoughts and feelings were available to reflect on, as follows:

• Spring Training is best as a shared experience; friends, family, fans
• Provides hope and spirit to the perennially hopeless
• Common interest of fans, history
• Smiles; everyone seems happy; regular season failures bring everyone down?
• Adults feel like kids again
• Fans enjoy booing refs (it’s only Spring Training!) and giving them the business
• Even more noticeable due to less crowd noise; smaller crowds
• PACKED stadiums; $75 lawn seats!!!
• Stadiums are packed for these glorified minor league games
• On Saturday, no Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Fielder, Braun
• Alcohol…beer consumption is taken up a notch
  • Because people are on vacation? Yes
  • After regular season games, fans have to go home!
• Financial boon to teams…and Arizona
• As some have predicted due to their immigration laws, any foreseeable impact on this year’s All-Star Game in AZ?
  • No way; not if this year’s Spring Training is any indication

Time’s up.  Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

- Matt
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