There was a time when I didn't get MLB. My older brother was a huge fan so it was always right within reach but I just didn't get it.
I preferred football, preferably college, preferably SWC, preferably Texas.
When the Harlem Globetrotters came to town, they were entertaining. Listening to Muhammad Ali's big mouth was entertaining. Watching the Wide Wide World of Sports and seeing the guy spill out every time they said the "Agony of Defeat" was cool. The pre-Jerry Jones Cowboy's could be entertaining at time. I loved the way Earl took the NFL by storm and carried the Oilers to Three Rivers Stadium for the AFC championship two years in a row. And I enjoyed "Battle of the Network Stars" during the Charlie's Angels era.
But mostly I was just a Texas Longhorn football fan and fan of watcher of other big college rivalries like Oklahoma-Nebraska and USC-Notre Dame.
I really got into Texas baseball in the mid '70s. Saw the '75 team several times and I still believe to this day that the 1977 team was possibly one of the best Texas teams ever even if it didn't get to Omaha.
Abe Lemmons made Texas basketball watchable.
I went to the Astrodome a few times. Dome dogs were delicious. I liked that Jose Cruz could be counted on to hit a home run in almost every game. I had an orange Astros cap. Still didn't get it. Not even when they almost looked good in 1980.
Texas baseball in the '80s was great too. CWS champs in '83. The Texas football team looked great in '83. My first wife left me around Christmas '83 and I was so numb when Craig Curry muffed the punt return in the Cotton Bowl I couldn't even be mad.
Sports was never really even a passion for me after that. Texas football was still fun to watch. DeLoss Dodds destroyed a joy in basketball when he fired Abe and hired Bob Weltlich.
Michael Jordan was great. I even liked the Pistons in the late '80s. The Mavs in '88 or '89 when they had Mark Aguirre, squared up against the Lakers and they both scored over 110 in every game was pretty cool. But it only lasted a minute.
Loved what Penders brought to the Texas basketball program. I was so sorry to see Coach Gus go and Augie's small ball took some getting used to but I fell in love with it in 2000.
By then my kids were playing sports. Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, weight lifting, track. Every kid, every sport, year after year after year.
I love my kids but I don't even cheer for my kids teams anymore. I'm too burnt out. I've sat too long in one stadium too many.
And that's when I started to get baseball. Business trips were an escape. Trips to Houston were fun. I discovered Houston. It's not just highways and hotels. It's hundreds of charming neighborhoods. It's not Pappa's and Landry's it's scores of family owned restaurants in China Town, Montrose and the Third Ward.
I love Houston. Houston and El Paso have become my two favorite places in Texas. And the world.
I wandered into Minute Maid a few years ago and rekindled a love that had always been there waiting for me. You can win 34 games in a row and it might not be enough. You can lose 50 and you might still have a chance. Your star can be injured for six months. You can acquire a closer. You can say one month, "Damn those Red Sox." Three months later you're beginning to worry about the Indians.
And if you have the great good fortune to get in a fantasy league, it's all about studying the analytics and assembling a team.
Yesterday Chris Sale, Luis Servino, Chase Anderson, Alex Colome and Yusmeiro Petit combined to give me 20 strong innings with ERA of 1.03 and WHIP of 0.84.
Then I picked up a White Sox third baseman named Matt Davidson who is knocking the crap out of the ball. He won't be forever but I'm not married to him. If I can just start him while he's hot, he can boost my stats.
I love baseball. I love that it's ten months long. It gives me a passion.