It's Official....

I am so happy tonight...it's official the start of Baseball season.. love these month of baseball...

We are Rex Sox fans in our house and it's great. For Dan growing up, he told me that he was a fan of baseball and was a Red's fan. His favorite player was Pete Rose.

I grew up outside of Boston, so I was a Red Sox fan. Growing up I loved the Red Sox. I loved going to Fenway Park and watching the players play the Ameican Game. I was a fan in the 70's so I followed, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Rick Burlson, Carl Yaztremski, and my favorite Carlton "Pudge" Fisk. He was the catcher and my man. I has baseball cards, played baseball on the boys team, had baseball shirts and even a hard batting hat. Dad put the number 27 on it for me. That was Fisk's number. Fisk was the catcher of the Red Sox. About ten years ago I was working a Celebrity Golf Tournament and had the opportunity to meet Fisk. He was playing in the tournament along with Johnny Bench and Mike Schmidt (another on of my favorites). Although it had been YEARS since I followed baseball at the time of the Golf Tournament, I was still star struck meeting Fisk. I had to ask him to sign a pin flag, the flag was going to be auctioned off and I could not get up the courage to ask him to sign it. I had to get my sister to do it. A childhood hero, I mean really, how do you do it? I just could not muster up the ability ask this big man to sign a pin flag. By the way, I was in my thirties when all this was going down and my knees were STILL buckling...what a wimp...it's okay, you can say it. I am not star struck by any means, please we all put our pants on one leg at a time, we all have the same color blood and breath the same air, but for some reason, Carlton Fisk....I mean come ON....Mom and dad use to take me to the games every so often. Angie and I even got the chance to have our pictures taken with some players when we were young. One time we had two tickets to the game and mom got out of work early and took me into Fenway Park. When we got there the ticket guy at the turnstiles stopped us and told mom that the tickets were for the game the night before. She was upset because she was afraid of letting me down. So instead of turning around and going home, mom went to the box office and purchased two tickets for the grand stand so she could still take me to the game. Now is that a mom or what?....She sacrificed the money for the tickets to get me to see the game so I would not be disappointed...That's my mom, always putting others first. She sat at the game, in the uncomfortable bleacher seats in Fenway Park. They are rotten seats, but I watched the bull pin and was happy as can be.

As I grew up, my love for baseball faded and I could have cared less about the game. you know I had other things to do and watch and other ways to spend my time. But it wasn't until recently...a few years a go Dan and I were in Boston for Lexie Garrity's high school graduation and my brother Dale had tix to the Red Sox Yankee's game. They were corporate tix for a Green Monster Package and he took us with him. Dan really had no interest in going until we got there. We were with a group for travel people, people that my brother Dale work with and work for. We started the evening with a tour of Fenway Park, got pictures taken, watched pre-game warm up, and settled into our seats on top of the Green Monster. Catered food and lots to drink. Oh yeah, also a players shirt. It was SOOO fun and reinstated my love for the game and the Red Sox. Dan loved it too...Since then, it's Red Sox Nation in our house.

For my birthday last year Angie and Gary treated Danny and I to a Red Sox vs. Rays game in Tampa. It was Brilliant. The four of us had so much fun. My new favorite player is Jason Veritck. The catcher... (something about those catchers) and Dan's player is Josh Beckett. We don't get a lot of games in TV here unless we splurge on the baseball package, but we don't need that right now... so we settle for when we can see the Sox on TV. We make it an event. We have fun. We even went to a Spring Training Game this past March in Ft. Meyers. It was great. Big Papi, Veritck, Jason Bay, Lugo. It was our first spring training game and a great night.

So when tonight the Opening Game was played in Fenway Park, The Sox played The Rays. Sox won. Danny cooked Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. We had peanuts and beer and were happy with the win. Last season, mom and dad stopped by to say hi and the game was on and went into extra innings. Mom and I pulled everything out of the fridge and put out a spread of leftovers and the game went into extra innings. I had such a great night. Dan's dad was visiting with us too, so he got into the game, and we all cheered on our Sox from Naples Florida. Dan took this picture of me and dad watching the game together. Just like when I was a kid. Since we are moving, all the photo's are off the walls and tucked away into boxes, except for this one...

Red Sox Nation Baby.... it's official.....