Opening Day: The Magic Behind Baseball's Grand Opening

Opening Day.

When one sees those two words linked closely together, the first image and thought that comes to mind is of baseball. No other opening day of any sport has the grandeur that Americans have attributed to the Opening Day.

There really is no thing that tantalizes the senses like the smell of freshly cut grass or the buzz about the crowd as fans filter into the stadium.

Vendors all around the stadium shout, "Programs! Get your programs here! Opening Day roster and full analysis of each player! Get your programs here!"

On top of that, musicians decorate the street, hoping to earn a quick "buck," as fans treat their taste buds to savory peanuts just outside the stadium.

This, my friends, is the magic of Opening Day.

Opening Day brings with it a sense of community and history that no other sport seems to encapsulate. Every Opening Day unites people from all around the city, no matter how different they are, to say, as they pass each other, "Go Red Sox!" or "Go Yankees!" or even "Go Mariners!" It brings the world together and for a moment allows people to come to a middle ground of unity that offers the promise of peace.

Baseball's Opening Day also has a certain feeling about it that just breathes "American." There is no feeling greater or more American than the first time a father brings his son to the ballpark.

The scene is just about the same in every person's mind: the dad, tall and strong, holding his son's hand as he walks through the gate with an oversized baseball cap and a new jersey for him to grow into for the very first time, with a smile beaming as he takes in his first glimpse of heaven. Every man who ultimately wants to have a child prays for this day to come, and for many it will be the highlight of his relationship with his kid.

Opening Day offers the promise of a new season full of dads becoming closer with their sons as they explain to them the intricate details and delicacies of the sport of baseball.

Opening Day also brings with it the death of a cold and frigid winter. Sports fans all across the nation begin to come out of their hibernation and look around and realize the beauty of sport. For the first time in several months, they are able to take a long-drawn, fresh breath of air and fill their lungs with the joys of baseball.

Though they may have been able to enjoy a hockey season or a team's deep run into March Madness, baseball brings with it a season that everybody will enjoy and unite together in. There is just something about the fresh-cut grass and the promise of sun and warmer weather in the near future that adds to the mystique of baseball's grandest day.

Opening Day is also a time when fans get to sit on the edges of their seats and cheer as their favorite Major League Baseball teams' rosters are announced for the first time in the year—a time when every team and fan throughout the nation shares a common bond: hope.

Hope drives the passion and thrill of the baseball season from Game 1 all the way to Game 162. It is this word that makes every MLB team's Opening Day a great success with the guarantee of a nearly sold-out stadium. No matter how miserable last season was or how many players you may have lost, each team begins the season new, with an unblemished record and a chance to become a part of MLB history.

Though only one team will ultimately walk away with the most coveted trophy in baseball, it is every game between Opening Day and Game 7 of the World Series that creates the aura and magic that surround baseball.

Each and every game is like a chapter in a thrilling novel, and Opening Day is the hooking introduction that will keep fans anxiously anticipating the turn of each page.

Whether they are hoping for a World Series title or for their team to go over .500 for the first time in 17 years, each team will have a thrilling plot with interesting characters that will develop along the way. With every new day comes a new surprise, and that is why Opening Day is the highlight of it all.

Opening Day gives the entire baseball community a "sneak peek" into the thrills that will accompany each team for the rest of the season. Whether it be a first-pitch home run or a near improbable perfect game, each Opening Day baseball game has a certain magnificence surrounding it that no other sport seems to offer.

That, my friends, is why Opening Day for baseball is the Opening Day.

So let us all sit back, relax and enjoy the ride; it's going to be one hell of a season.