If it wasn’t for the fans, where would any sport be?  A 1 point game with seconds left, everyone on their feet, the arena is electric.  A quarterback leading his team down the field, the stadium exploding with every big play, setting up a game winning FG.  Lastly, bottom of the 9th, game tied, runners in scoring position, there’s not one fan that isn’t standing with anticipation.

If you’re a fan of any sport, these situations are ones that make them great.  But no offense to those die hard basketball and football fans, I’ll take baseball any day of the week and a doubleheader on Sunday. 

As spring training opens, it means the baseball fan can dream of celebrating that World Series title in October, the parade down Main St, the excitement as the first players role by with the Championship Trophy gleaming in the afternoon sun….then you wake up from one of your best dreams in a long time.  Expectations are high for, ok almost, every team.  A few teams have begun their rebuilding phase, selling off a few pieces (Oakland, Florida) that fans had gotten used to, rebuilding their farm systems and stocking up with draft picks in the June MLB draft.

Think of it this way, would players get near as excited on a walk-off HR if fans weren’t jumping up and down, rocking the entire ballpark?  Would rookies, walking up to the plate for his first major league at bat, feel more nerves than he’s ever felt in his entire career if there weren’t 40,000 pairs of eyes staring down at him, wondering what he’s going to do?  Would a World Series parade mean as much to the players, if there weren’t hundreds of thousands of fans lining the streets to celebrate along with them?

You know what I enjoy the most about going to a baseball game?  I’m in one of the best parts of the country, Southern California, where I can drive down the 5 freeway from Orange County on a warm spring afternoon headed for downtown San Diego and Petco Park.  For me, that means hearing “Hells Bells” blaring over the intercom, signaling the entrance of Trevor Hoffman.  To me, there’s nothing that makes me love baseball more than getting to be there for that.  I remember, back in 1998, the Padres were still playing at old Jack Murphy Stadium, and when “Hells Bells” was blaring, you could hear the place erupt for miles.

To all fans of all sports, keep doing what you’re doing, it’s not just the players that make the game exciting, it’s the reaction of the fans that make the players play as hard and as motivated as they do.  Besides, next time they think fans aren’t that important, ask them were their millions come from, that might just change their tune.

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