People always have reasons that they love the sport or sports team that they love. I am no different. My grandmother, who we called Nan, passed away last Thursday, and her funeral is today. Now, as you all know, I am a Ranger fan through and through, and always will be, but that was not the first team I rooted for.
Nan was 94, and she lived all ninety-four of her years in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. I was born there and lived there until I was nine years old. I have two main baseball memories from my time living there:
1. Almost every Sunday my family would go over to Nan’s house for lunch after church, and from April to September the Phillies game was always on. And Nan would spend most of the time complaining about what the team or manager was doing wrong. She was one of the biggest Phillies fans I know, and she had a plethora of knowledge when it came to baseball. I also remember
my grandfather turning down his hearing aid when Nan started getting loud. But that is another story. Nan’s love for baseball is one of the reasons I became the baseball fan that I am today, and I thank her for it. To honor her memory today, I am wearing (for one day only, mind you) the Philadelphia Phillies hat that she sent me in 2008 when the Phillies won the World Series. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the Phillies thanks to her and my dad.
2. I still remember the first game I attended live with my dad and my brother, and it was in old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Dad took us to see the Phillies play the Mets. I can still remember the wonder I felt when I looked at that huge stadium for the first time, taking in the game in person for the first time. We sat in the upper deck and Mike Schmidt hit a monster home-run that came close to us, and I still remember wondering how a person could hit a baseball that far. I remember eating my first ballpark hot dog, and I remember wanting to go back as soon as possible. Shortly after that we moved to Texas, and I never got to see another baseball game in Veterans Stadium, but I will always remember enjoying my first experience with baseball.
As you all well know, From that point on I became a Rangers fan, and have never looked back, but thanks to Nan, I still have a little soft spot in my heart for the Phillies. I will miss her, but at least now she has a great seat to watch the Phillies from above. Miss you Nan.
