SPORTS
Smiling Like a Kid Again
Watching the Savannah Bananas play for the simple joy of baseball
I just returned from the gym, a place I am frequently more often as my teenager is interested in working out. And since the time of his eventual leaving to go off on his own will soon be upon us, I take advantage of such times.
Usually, I ride a bike and read stories from my Medium friends (my replies are brief, I’m afraid). Today, however, I put my phone away and watched baseball—not the Red Sox (my team) but the Savannah Bananas. My son and I laughed in wonder.
How refreshing to watch players, umpires, fans, and everyone else having a blast. What a difference from watching corporate sports, where money and winning trump (and I used this verb consciously) everything.
Watching this game reminded me of watching Cirque du Soleil (clowns and acrobats), Harlem Globetrotters (trick plays and skill), and Fortnite (a lot of dance moves that one sees while playing that game my son loved so much). I saw players backflipping while catching a ball or between-the-legs catches or throws with spectacular athleticism. Everyone was free to hot dog, to celebrate exuberantly oneself and others, without egos being bruised by something like a bat flip like the players in MLB. When a player got hit by…
