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A perfect day for a perfect sport in Oakland
Last Saturday saw a perfect day for Oakland’s opening day parade. The weather was a picture of spring with no hint of the harsh winter that closed schools, tumbled trees, and buried roads with piles of snow. The sun was warm, the air crisp, and parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors poured out to celebrate the start of Oakland’s baseball and softball season.
It’s a perfect sport because it’s open to all. Tall or short, big or small, the various positions and skills make baseball the most universal of sports. Everybody can find a role, everybody can contribute to the team in some way. It’s perfect because it’s timeless, it goes on forever till a winner emerges; no shortcuts to an end like in basketball, football or soccer.
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The baseball of youth, kids, is the baseball all adults yearn to recapture. It’s the purity of the game, the faith in fair play, honest effort, and just rewards. The baseball played by children is the baseball that keeps the game alive, the reason why people still tune into watch the major league players compete.
So the annual parade is for the kids, but it ushers in the fresh air of old memories for adults. It brings everyone in attendance back to a better time, a time when being a good sport was valued, when sacrificing for the team was respected, and when we understood that believing is simply a matter of faith.