In
what can only be described as a double barrel of sports joy, we have the pleasure
of Opening Day for Major League Baseball with my beloved Toronto
Blue Jays going up against the Red Sox at the fabled Fenway Park in Boston.
It’s also the NCAA Basketball Championship final in Atlanta this evening featuring
the Hoosiers of Indiana University going up against the University of Maryland
Terrapins for the privilege of cutting down the nets and hearing that magical
song, "One Shining Moment", that years later, still brings a smile to my face
and joy to my heart.
With
baseball, it’s the thrill of going to the ballpark, enjoying the weather and
just being together - whether (in my case) it is just my youngest and I (right),
or if it’s 30 or 40 of us going as a group. As a child going to minor league
ball games at Derk’s Field in Salt Lake City (where I spent a couple of my teenage
years as a vendor almost 30 years ago), they sold soda pop, popcorn, cotton
candy and hot dogs. Today at Skydome with my youngest, we have the choice of
McDonald’s, Pizza, Pretzels and a whole host of other options that weren’t available
to me - that’s in addition to what else is sold by the vendors who work the
stands the way I did a long time ago.
As a former athlete, I am appreciative of the efforts these professionals
go to in order to in order to get themselves in condition to play these games
- regardless of what the sport may be, as well as having an awareness of the
sacrifice required to get to the level of skill that they have the privilege
of playing sports for a livelihood. As a father, having experienced the joy
of taking my younger son to his first baseball game last year, I appreciate
the time it allows us to strengthen and deepen the bonds of love, trust and
friendship that are so much a part of our lives now. I’m a pretty good dad;
I may not be the world’s best daddy (although I am continually working on that),
but he thinks I am - and that’s good enough for now!
The
thing is (because of my past participation in sports and other athletic activities),
as a general rule, I am not really into watching sports much - with the exception
of baseball and NCAA basketball. The NCAA playoffs are a thrill in
every sense of the word imaginable. Think about it for a moment
if you will: 64 teams from all over the country invited to ’The Big Dance’,
and unlike the Olympics, it’s a one-shot deal. You win, you move on - you lose,
you go home - end of discussion. Whoever goes 6-0 gets to cut down the nets
and hear that song - "One Shining Moment" - that even now - 20 years later,
sends both thrills and a shiver up and down my spine.
Because of my long-standing loyalties, I was disappointed but not surprised
that 12th-seed Utah did not make it past Indiana - however, it seems that almost
everyone Utah has played and lost to at the Big Dance since head
coach Rick Majerus came on board has gone to the final game and if past indicators
are any indicator, it bodes very well indeed for Rich Davis and the Indiana
Hoosiers.
Yes indeed, it is a very special day; for it really isn’t an April Fool’s
this year to have both Opening Day for my beloved Toronto Blue Jays and the
NCAA Championship Final scheduled on the same day. Talk about the ultimate
doubleheader - Is this Heaven? No. It’s Spring.
So to those of you who share these passions as I do, I wish you all the best
in the big game tonight. And as for baseball: Batter Up! We begin 162 games
of sheer delight and eventual madness later today!
On the baseball side of the house: Good luck, Blue Jays! As for the NCAA’s:
Knock ’em dead Indiana!
Timothy Rollins
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Logo of Toronto Blue Jays courtesy of Major League Baseball Properties
Logo of Boston Red Sox courtesy of Major League Baseball Properties
Photo of Tim and T.J. Rollins courtesy of family files and used with permission
Logo Graphic of 2002 NCAA Championship Match-up courtesy of CBS Sports
Tim and Son - Baseball 2001
CBS SPORTS and the 2002 NCAA Men’s Final