For every true baseball fan, there is no day quite like Opening Day. It is a day of anticipation, hope and, of course, potential bragging rights. When Major League Baseball kicks off their season, every fan has their eyes on their favorite team’s scores.
The season is long. Each team will suffer some losing streaks, a few injuries and maybe even trade a player two, but if your team manages to get a win on day one then that means they are still perfect, and for whatever reason, everything just seems right.
Opening Day is always exciting, but it is a whole different experience at Saint Louis University. St. Louis prides itself on being a great baseball town. However, that is not the only thing that raises the excitement. The SLU student body comes from all over the United States, so many of those students bring their team allegiances with them to college.
Take a look around on March 31 as you are walking around campus. You will be sure to see students wearing T-shirts or hats that represent their teams from Chicago, Texas, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kansas City and many other places. In fact, a true fan would probably be ashamed of themselves for not representing their team in some fashion on opening day.
Baseball brings about a sense of pride that transcends just the sport. On Opening Day, people have an excuse to really be proud of where they are from. It also brings many people together. Two students, regardless of year or major, will come together to root for their team and seek the bragging rights over the rest of their peers.
Yet still, baseball can encourage a level of individualization.
“I walk around and see all the Cubs and Cardinals shirts, and I’m proud to be wearing my Rockies shirt. I always liked that I come from somewhere sort of unique to SLU. It’s cool to be one of the few people here rooting for my team,” junior Colorado native, Jesse Hassell said.
Of course much of the intensity of Opening Day revolves around the famous Cardinals-Cubs rivalry. Commonly considered the second biggest rivalry in baseball, Cubs and Cardinals fans have no love for their division rivals, and with a very large portion of the student body coming from either St. Louis or Chicago, SLU is in the middle of the action.
“I check the Cub’s score every day, but to be honest, I usually check the Cardinal’s score second. It’s always nice to get a win on the same day the Cards lose,” senior Chicago native and Cubs fan Jesse Merdian said.
Baseball brings about a natural level of pride, and on Opening Day there is a refreshing feeling of hope.
“Even though we’ve struggled recently, every year on Opening Day I have hope that the Indians can succeed, especially since the Central Division isn’t usually very strong,” junior Cleveland native, Donnie Green said.
Yankee great, Joe DiMaggio once said, “You always get a special kick out of Opening Day…You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.”
Who knows, maybe we should live everyday like it is Opening Day.
