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I Believe in Baseball

My name is Ken Weber. I'm Political Science major at CU Boulder. I'm a die-hard New York Mets fan, and I'm awesome.

 media type="file" key="ken this i believe2.mp3" align="center" I believe in baseball. I believe that baseball is awesome and embodies values that are essential to being a fully functioning human being. Baseball is dedication and devotion. It’s sticking with your team through adversity. I’m a die-hard New York Mets fan and the Mets have been absolutely atrocious the last few years. I haven’t defected and become a fair-weather fan of some awful team like the Phillies. Because number one, Philadelphia is a terrible city and everyone from Philadelphia is a terrible person. And number two, because you can’t give up on your ideals and convictions every time they’re challenged.

Last year, the Rockies, my current hometown team, made it to the playoffs and my friends and I went to both of their games at Coors Field. They were playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series, a best of 5 series. If the Rockies won they would advance to the next round of the playoffs, and if they lost they would be eliminated. The Mets had a terrible injury-plagued season and they were not in the playoffs. I still went to both games decked out in Mets gear, mainly to boo the Phillies.

The games were played in October, and they were both freezing cold. I had my Mets jersey over my winter coat. The Rockies were ahead in the first game, but blew it in the 9th inning, and they lost. During the second game, the Rockies were losing for most of the game. But in the bottom of the 8th, Yorvit Torrealba hit a double that put the Rockies in the lead. I was jumping up and down and high-fiving Rockies fans all around me. The crowd was electric. But in the top of the 9th, the Phillies came back and took the lead. The game still wasn’t over, and the Rockies came to bat in the bottom of the 9th down by only one run. But the Rockies fans had given up. Almost all of them were dead silent, and a lot of them got up and left. I was standing up, freezing my ass off, and yelling as loud as I could for the Rockies to come back and win while people were leaving all around me. I was a better Rockies fan than actual Rockies fans. The Rockies lost that game, and were eliminated from the playoffs.

The important thing isn’t the fact that the Rockies choked and blew both games in the 9th inning. The important thing is that I was still cheering even though the majority of Rockies fans gave up. You need to hold onto your convictions and beliefs, even when they’re challenged. And that applies whether you’re rooting for a baseball team or trying to bring about world peace. Don’t give up just because it’s hard or unlikely to happen. The game isn’t over ‘til it’s over, and there’s always a chance for a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th.

That’s why I believe in baseball. I believe it promotes values like perseverance, dedication, and above all never giving up. I believe that without these values we’re not good human beings. And we don’t want to be that. That means we’d be from Philadelphia.