Baseball Bucket List

I do not like the phrase 'bucket list'.  I feel that it is a term made up by some travel agency somewhere to get aging people to spend money on exotic vacations.  With that said, here's my baseball bucket list.  A few things I would like to do in my lifetime.

Go to Opening Day.  Yes, it deserves to be capitalized.  Yes, it deserves to be taken in by a fan of the game.  I know that it is a game just like the other one hundred and sixty one, but this one is different.  There is more pomp and circumstance to it.  And it doesn't matter if you are the reigning World Series champions or if you lost one hundred games the previous year, there is still a ton of excitement in the air.  It is coming from the fans and from the players.  It's the fresh cut grass and the chalk on the base paths.  It's waiting to see the rookie that made the team out of training camp or the veteran your team signed during the way too long off season.  It's what the game is all about.  And it's the beginning of the longest journey for the fans of the game.

Catch a double header.  This is more of the hardcore part of this list.  Going to one game can take a lot out of you.  Sitting there, sometimes in the sun and heat or the cold and rain, for three hours or more to watch a game takes up your day.  And it is glorious.  Want to make it even better?  Watch that same team just a few hours later!  The good thing about catching a double header is that you can do stuff other than go to the games.  Take some time in the city you are in and find a new restaurant or a new bar. 

Getting to see the World Series in person is at the top of this list.  All the excitement you get on Opening Day at the end of the season.  After watching the Tigers struggle the last two times they have made it to the World Series, I have decided that I still would have wanted to see any of the games.  As depressing as they would have been, it would be so cool.  If there is a highlight reel play, you could say 'I was there.  And I have to ticket to prove it.' 

With all these things I want to see, I would want to see them if the Tigers are playing.  That would be the first priority.  However, if there was ever a chance to do any of these things and the Tigers weren't playing, I would still go.  Who would turn down a ticket to a World Series game?  Or an Opening Day game.  It is true that it wouldn't be as engrossing because your team wouldn't be out on the field, but going to the game because it is the sport that you love is just as important.