The Cincinnati Reds....my favorite team from childhood that I have carried over into adult hood is in first place late into the season and has me actually paying attention a little bit. We shall see how it plays out, but they seem to be comfortably in first place (6 1/2 games when I wrote this). That hasn't happened too often in the last 20 years where they have been in first for this long.
I have liked the Reds since the days of Pete Rose playing 3rd base in the mid 1970's when it seemed the Reds were involved in every post season (maybe not, but it felt like it to me). The days of Charlie Hustle who sprinted out walks, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, etc. were wonderful days to be a Reds fan (I was really, really young, but remember those seasons)
Since those days, the Reds have only had a few seaons of success with the best being 1990. The Reds have made the playoffs a couple times since that last World Championship, but have been beaten so quickly, it's like they weren't really there. Those quick defeats, the strikes and steroids have burned me on professional baseball.
To be honest, I don't really care for pro sports much and will watch some football and basketball, but major league baseball is something that has stayed with me in some form as I have aged. My Grandpa Hunter and Grandpa Jones loved baseball from its heyday as our national pastime and they passed that love onto me. Baseball is my first love, playing T Ball when I was 5 attempting to play and/or coach into my 40's. It is a love I can hopefully pass onto my own children and give them memories of their own.
I don't know if I can tell you too many of the Reds on this team other than Joey Votto and I am sure if you started naming names, I would know who they were, but I just can't seem to get past all of the issues that pro sports have had over the last 10-15 years. I hope that this season ends in an exciting way for me and to be able to share with my children.
I mean, that's what I want for this Reds team to remind me of my childhood when the Reds were good and I got excited each season. Because that is what we all want from sports isn't it? To be reminded what it was like when were children before bills and mortgages. Life is full of frustration and anxiety and if we can cheer for our favorite baseball team and lose ourselves for a couple of hours in their success we can be reminded what it's like to be 10 years old again.
