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My son, his girl & Tampa Bay
September 6, 2008
My son called me Thursday & told me Josh Beckett was pitching on Wednesday night against Tampa Bay. Wednesday Night, I thought, he's pitching tonite. He reminded me that his girl had gotten him tickets way back in late May for next Wednesday's game. Where he doesn't go to many games, he was obviously stoked.
His girl, to say the least, is not a baseball fan. Her dad is a huge fan, coaching ball for a long time, playing in fantasy leagues. But, it wasn't until my son came along that she showed any interest in baseball or softball. She watched any game with him, when they were on, which was all the time, and asked questions. Who was that, why did that happen? And she showed up every week at our softball games. She said early on LAST YEAR the he reminded her of Dustin Pedroia (he plays 2b) because he always dives and hustles. That X-Mas, she bought him a Pedroia shirt, which he proudly wears, more so I think, because she bought it for him.
Two things stand out about her buying the tickets. One, she didn't have any idea what team to get. She had asked him and there was a short list of available tickets. Tampa Bay was one of them. Who knew? Tampa Bay in late May would mean so much in September? The second thing was, she didn't, for some strange reason, like Joe Maddon. She would watch the games with him and when he would be shown on the screen she would tell him 'I don't like that guy'. Good enough reason to buy tickets, I guess.
Since May, so much has changed for each of them. His grandmother stricken with cancer. They dealt with a fire that had them out of their apartment for a month and a half. They lived in a hotel and in their respective homes for a bit. They have since moved into a new place. Recently, she lost her younger sister, an unexpected tragedy. How they stayed composed and supportive of one another speaks volumes of their trust and relationship.
They are off to the game on Wednesday, and as we discussed in our phone conversation, it could be for 1st place that night. As mentioned, other life issues have been more important than baseball games. But for one night, two people in the stands at Fenway will be rooting their hearts out, one screaming at Joe Maddon, along with everyone else. Those hearts will have seen a lot of heartache, you just wouldn't know it, and who knew it, back in May?
-ruff13
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