The Day of Days

Hey Everyone!

Well, the day is here. The one that I have been dreading all season and for the past 18 months. Today, the Ems will be playing their final game ever at Civic Stadium. I'm going to be leaving for the ballpark in a couple hours, and I wanted to shoot off a post about what's been going on with me and how I've been dealing with it.

It's funny how when the season began, this blog was supposed to be all about baseball. It was going to chronicle my Baseball Roadtrips across the country, specifically where I was going, what I was going to do, and what was next. This blog has become, instead, a passage of my life these past seven months. Baseball has become a very easy way for me to escape all the problems that I have been facing since the season began. All the stress, anxiety, depression, and anguish that I have been going through for the past 18 months always seemed to go away when I was at a baseball game. Things became clearer, purer, and simpler. Now the very structure which was the catalyst for everything I am passionate about is not going to be there for me next year.

It would be a fair assessment to say that I have spent half my life at that venerable old ballpark. I truly feel that through the experiences I went through there directly contributed to my maturation and development into the man I am today. So many memories were created and shared there with my family and friends. I saw my first baseball game there. I had my 8th grade graduation there. I had my first job there. I got my first kiss there. These are memories that I will never forget and will always have great appreciation for.

Last night, I had the very unique opportunity to be interviewed by the Emeralds radio broadcaster, Chris Fisher, about my experiences at Civic Stadium and my travels across this country. During the interview, I came to a realization that Civic Stadium was always my comparison. The backbone for all the grading and critique I do on all these parks I visit. Be it Greensboro or Vancouver, they were all compared to Civic. In the interview, I stated that Civic Stadium was the best place in the country to see a baseball game, period. I will stick by that creedo even after Civic's demise. I also talked about the unique passion that Ems fans here in Eugene possess, the stability of the organization, and if I were to go to games at PK Park next year.

Here is the tentative plan for today's final game. I am scheduled to work a picnic, and I will report to work at around 1:30pm. However, before that, I am going to get to the stadium a little early and tour the grounds one last time taking many, many pictures, taping some movies and soaking in what has become a second home to me for many years. There is scheduled to be a brief pregame ceremony with the President of the Emeralds organization, Bob Beban, Emeralds manager Greg Riddoch, and a few other notable Emeralds alumni. After the game, they are going to let people onto the field to browse and reflect.

As for me, when the game is over, I will write in magic marker on my seat my name and the dates which I attended games, 1995-2009. I will go onto the field and I plan on just walking around and gathering my thoughts. I'm going to try and acquire a couple of the numbers from the scoreboard to keep as mementos of the ballpark. Again, I will be taking many, many pictures during all of this. Something like this needs to be documented and kept.

I'm going to try very hard and keep my emotions in check during all of this. I have cried a lot these last couple days and today probably will be no different. I will post after the game.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)