Opening Day - finally
We did it Red Sox fans. Without a doubt, it's disappointing to have Mother Nature win on Opening Day, but today looks to be better weather-wise. After the awkwardness of last year - a regular season that started in July and cardboard cutouts in the stands to cite two examples - waiting one more day is nothing. I don't know about you, but I'd like to see the curtain go up on the 2021 season with sunny skies high above Fenway rather than cloudy skies and a drizzle.
Just a one more day wait and the season still begins in April, as it should. Just an extra day to wait and we've got real, live fans back in the stands, as they should be. Fans like you and me who are going to cheer like they've never cheered before. And with the first bad call, they're going to unleash a year's plus worth of, shall we say, displeasure with the call?
When #17 walks to the mound for the top of the first, is anyone going to think about what he did in 2020, or do our minds take us back to Game 3 of the 2018 World Series and one of the greatest postseason pitching performances we've ever seen? Our old friends Bogie, Raffy, JD and Vazquez will all be greeted with loud ovations and there's no doubt that the Fenway Faithful will extend warm welcomes to all of the new faces in town this season.
As Thomas Boswell once wrote, time begins on Opening Day. Over the last year, there were moments when it felt like time stood still, or was passing at a glacial pace. But now, we are mere hours away from the "Play Ball" that kicks off the 2021 season. The pop of a 99 mph fastball into the catcher's mitt, the crack of the bat on a well hit ball to the Monster, the green of Fenway, Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Sweet Caroline.
After an extra day's wait, we made it. Opening Day is here...........finally! Enjoy it Sox fans!
