I am a baseball fan.
I wasn't born this way I was converted at the tender age of 12 by my Virginia cousin, Dave.
Yep. That's the two of us in this photo , in all of our gawky teenage splendor, playing ball in the backyard at his family's home in Radford.
As opposed to me, Dave's passion for baseball came honestly. It was ingrained by his father... the all-time great sports fan, B. David Bisset...or Uncle Dave as I knew and loved him.
There was a time in my preteen and teen years when Uncle Dave, his wife Aunt Irene, and their three kids....Dave, Karen and Jimm, would take summer drives up north to visit their Yankee family.
The "Yankee" description didn't only refer to our geographical location. It was also about Dave's dedication to the New York Yankees Baseball Team, and his determination to bring me into the Bronx Bombers' fold.
One of the ways Dave encouraged my support of the Yankees was by gifting me a team bobble head. It was a source of great pride, which I honored with a select placement in my bedroom, and later in our family's den.
However, as my life evolved I married, gave birth, moved 12 times in 10 years, divorced, and ending up moving three subsequent times.
Despite my children playing Little League Baseball, and Uncle Dave fanning the embers of my baseball heart and soul, the all-encompassing experiences of adulthood resulted in my Yankees bobbler and my baseball passion getting protectively wrapped and stored away.
Fast forward to 2004 and 2008 when, unbeknownst to me, my baseball passion was about to be renewed through the birth of my grandson, and my granddaughter. As these two magical gifts of life began to grow, they both joined with hundreds of thousands kids across America to play Little League
Once again, I was pulled into the world of bats, balls, mitts, and base running. Once again family was directly connecting me to America's pastime. Once again I became a fan.
As my grandkids grew, baseball gave us a shared interest...something to talk about in person and through social media posts and tweets. Within that sharing, slowly but surely the the NY Yankees and I resumed our relationship. I further found myself expanding my baseball passion to include the history of the game, and its significance to America.
I read books on the subject, watched baseball movies from the 1942 classic, "Pride of the Yankees," to modern era favorites like "A League of Their Own," "The Natural," and "Field of Dreams, along with segments of Ken Burns "Baseball" Documentary. All of them deepened my passion for the game.
Then came the day when I made the trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown; a day when the significance of baseball became crystal clear to me. Not only because of the impressive accomplishments of those who have played and fostered the game, but also because at the core of my baseball passion is the thing that I love and value most....family.
As I finished my inspiring museum tour, I dreamed of a time when I would share the HOF experience with my grandchildren.
Over the weekend, I realized that dream, and more, as I traveled back to Cooperstown with my daughter and grandchildren. Our purpose was twofold: to visit the Hall of Fame together and to attend a double header game at Double Day Field, Cooperstown NY, located next door to the Hall.
Not just any double header....two Niagara Expos 17U games... with my grandson playing shortstop.
As I sat in the stands with my daughter and granddaughter (who BTW retired from the game at the advanced age of 9, after her softball team won their league championship,) and while we waited for my grandson to take the field, pride filled my heart.
It was a feeling directly connected through the generations of my family....from Uncle Dave to Cousin Dave, through my children and my grandchildren, and those enshrined in the Hall of Fame, as well as all the kids who have ever played at Double Day Field with their proud families cheering in the stands. And yes, even to the NY Yankees.
And for the first time, I truly understood why baseball is America's Favorite Pastime.
Think it's time to go dig out that Yankees bobblehead.