Baseball

I'm not a big fan of baseball (or any team sport, for that matter). But now that the Phillies are playing in the post-season games, my husband has suddenly become invested in them, and thus, I've been forced to watch the past two weeks. Even older child has decided he enjoys the games. (Younger child seems, like me, completely bored and would rather destroy the house with his train set than actually sit quietly and watch).

Anyway, my problem with baseball is that it's so slow and boring, and I have trouble really caring about balls, bats, and bases. But as I was watching last night, it occurred to me that baseball fans are actually optimists. Everyone who watches those first eight innings is really just sitting there thinking that something amazing/interesting/exciting might happen in the ninth inning. (At least, this is what I tell myself as I sit here writing this in the top of the fifth inning. Something good is bound to happen in the end, right? There must be some payoff?)

The other positive, I guess, is that we're all hanging out together as a family watching something in common, rooting for something together. And in my attempt to find something interesting, I engaged my husband in a 20 minute debate over Brian Wilson's bizarrely un-matching beard last night-- when do we ever get to talk about things like this :)

But even though I'm pretty bored by baseball, I have to admit, I do understand my husband's urge to watch. There's something positive about rooting for a team, wanting them to win something big, something that feels important.

How do you feel about baseball? Have you been a reluctant watcher this week like me, or do you enjoy it or just ignore it?