Happy Opening Day at the Yards, everyone.
We are opening here early, closing late and, in the middle, big screening the Orioles game this afternoon.
I'll be at my traditional spot in the press box at Camden Yards, I believe it's my 12th year covering the Orioles' home opener (I was on assignment elsewhere for two others) .
Sure, the Orioles' real Opening Day was Tuesday, when they lost in the bottom of the ninth to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. But we are going to forget about that one.
I have written this before, but that's not stopping me from doing it again today. Opening Day in Baltimore – even if it is the fourth game of the regular season – is always special.
That feeling started early with me. I was probably in third or fourth grade the first time my parents took me out of school to attend Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. It became sort of a family tradition, my parents eschewing a day at school for education at the ballpark (and some wonder why I became a sportswriter instead of splitting the atom).
A few days ago, a friend of mine from high school sent out an email thread asking who would be attending the home opener. And several responded. The tradition doesn't end when you hit 40, I guess.
I realize the Orioles are in a 12-season losing streak. I get the fact that there is a whole lot of hostility about how this team has fared – and what's in store for 2010.
But there is just something about Opening Day, about welcoming back the players and spring and that faint hint of hope to the Inner Harbor.
Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic (though that's not my wife's argument).
Maybe the losing has taken away your excitement for Opening Day, I don't know. But I want to know.
Daily Think Special: Finish the sentence: Opening Day at Camden Yards is …