BACK IN THE GAME — The Weekly Opine

The Wizard of Oz’s Emerald City does not look more welcoming than the approach toward White Sox park last Saturday. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A long time coming.

Last week, my involvement with sports, which for nearly a year-and-a-half was relegated entirely to television viewing, took a major step forward. The combination of the NFL Draft – thrust into appointment viewing status (I will explain later) – along with attending a Chicago White Sox game in-person, most definitely increased the pep in my step.

Prior to Saturday’s White Sox game against Cleveland, the last sporting event I attended in-person was the Jan. 11, 2020, Indiana vs. Ohio State men’s college basketball game. Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was rocking loud that Saturday afternoon as IU defeated #11 OSU by a score of 66-54. As I exited Assembly Hall, there was no premonition that I would not attend a live sports event for another 16 months.

New world order

When Division 1 conference tournaments, which help determine seedings for the NCAA Big Dance, were abruptly cancelled in March 2020, it was stunning. The shock forced everyone with a brain to acknowledge the seriousness of something called the coronavirus. Equally shocking at that time was Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announcing they were diagnosed with the virus while in Australia.

Next, the NBA temporarily pulled the plug on its season, the NFL restructured its draft to a virtual format – still producing an entertaining experience – and all bets were off. The Kentucky Derby and the Masters golf tournament pushed their events to the fall. Major tennis events were cancelled or scrambled to find alternate dates.

And based on the science-based knowledge of someone I had never heard of, a man named Dr. Anthony Fauci, I knew my beloved Indianapolis 500 was in trouble.

These tickets to the 2020 Indianapolis 500 were not used, a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Back in November 2019, it was announced that Roger Penske purchased IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As the new owner of IndyCar, which was showing signs of life following decades of paltry attendance and listless TV ratings, Penske understandably wanted to protect his investment. Penske committed to running the Indy 500 – still the world’s greatest automobile race - in May with the usual 300,000 fans in attendance.

But Doc Fauci – unmuzzled and able to speak the truth – was persistent. The sinking feeling fans of the Indy 500 felt gave way to reality. Penske relented, moving the race to August 2020. He said there would be fans, but only 75,000. By mid-summer, Penske admitted there was no way to safely bring any fans to the world’s greatest racecourse.

Just a year after celebrating attending my 50th Indy 500, I was forced to sit on my patio alone, watching the race on TV while grilling huge quantities of meat. (No side dishes, just meat.)

Play ball!

No surprise, I was amped driving into the city to see the White Sox vs. Cleveland game last weekend. Saturday was near-perfect. Temperature 85 degrees. A bit windy but loads of sunshine. And a near ideal start time of 3:05 p.m. (ideal start time is 1:10 p.m.). At the beginning, it was a wacky game.

Last Saturday was a great day to attend my first sporting event since the pandemic began. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

In the first inning, Cleveland’s pitcher struck out the first three Sox batters he faced. In the second inning, he struck out the first two Sox batters before walking four batters in succession. The next Sox batter – Tim Anderson – hit a grand slam homerun. The Cleveland pitcher then struck out the next batter to end the inning. Sox ahead 5-0. In the third inning, a Cleveland relief pitcher struck out all three Sox hitters.

Did you follow that? In the first three innings, Cleveland pitchers struck out nine Sox hitters, walked four, and gave up a grand slam homerun. The Sox went on to win 7-3 in front of a crowd of around 9,000 fans.

Sox operations folks mostly did a nice job spacing out seating, although some groups of fans were seated closer to others than felt appropriate. Concession stands only accepted credit or debit card payments. Overall, I felt safe not wearing my mask while seated in the ballpark. When going to the concession concourse, everyone wore a mask. (So happy not to live in Florida or Texas).

The plan is to visit the ballpark again next Thursday. Game time 1:10 p.m.

Welcome race fans!

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest stadium on the planet and is, by a long shot, my favorite sports venue.

The famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway will not be empty this year. One hundred thirty-five thousand fans will attend the Indy 500 on May 30. (Photo credit NBC Sports screenshot)

My dad took my brother and me to our first Indianapolis 500 in 1968. After all these years, race day anticipation and the adrenaline rush remain palpably supercharged. The sights, sounds, and smell of Indy are unrivaled. And when the famous call – “Drivers, start your engines!” – brings the 33 engines to life you are thrilled to be back home again in Indiana.

Most impactful in 1968 was the sweet, high-pitched roar of the low-slung race machines as they hurtled around the racetrack. For a ten-year-old, it was a delightful, unforgettable sensory experience. On that day, Indy was seared indelibly into my psyche and my soul.

Consequently, it was a crushing disappointment to miss the race last year. If I did not already despise Trump by then (I did), I despised him even more upon the news that, because of his administration’s incompetence, fans could not attend the race.

However, a welcome email arrived this week when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway informed me my tickets to this year’s race are in the mail! I will be among 135,000 fans allowed to go to the race. I cannot wait.

Green Baby Packer

One of the biggest football stories during last week’s NFL Draft was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers saying he wants out of Green Bay. Apparently, he is still miffed because the Packers had the audacity to draft a QB in last year’s draft but did not draft a wide receiver. This comes after Rodgers initially created unhealthy tension in 2019 by openly disrespecting his new head coach, Matt LaFleur.

Now the target is general manager Brian Gutekunst, who orchestrated the forgivable mistake of not informing Rodgers in advance before drafting a quarterback last year. Hardly something that should send Rodgers into an uncompromising funk whereby he wants out of town.

Watching the NFL Draft this year was more pleasurable than ever. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

To use an NFL phrase, “upon further review” Rodgers’ complaint about the Packers not drafting a wide receiver before last season rings hollow. Somehow, Green Bay was able to lead the league in total points. Green Bay was 9th in the NFL (out of 32 teams) in passing yards. Rodgers’ 48 TD passes ranked first in the league. And the Packers net yards per pass completion ranked 2nd.

Possibly, Rodgers tantrum is an attempt to distract from his lackluster record in NFC championship games (the NFC title game is the gateway to the Super Bowl). While Rodgers does have one Super Bowl ring, his record in NFC championship games is a forgettable one win and four losses.

I have always been a fan of Aaron Rodgers, even admiring his talent as he twice annually thrashes my favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears. But his pouting-like-a-child act is too much. Let management do their jobs selecting the players. Let the coaches do their jobs designing the schemes. Rodgers should do his job and play football, for the Green Bay Packers. Taking your ball and going home is the stuff of 6th graders.

Maybe Rodgers has forgotten the Packers drafted him while the great QB Brett Favre was still playing at a high level in Green Bay. Team management would be negligent if they passed over fresh talent who can learn from a Hall of Fame caliber veteran. (I do not recall Drew Brees complaining when New Orleans brought in Taysom Hill, and then added Jameis Winston last year.)

Other than the Rodgers distraction, the NFL Draft was enjoyable, even more so because my better half, who is a huge football fan, informed me a few days beforehand that we would be watching the draft together. So, I made a big pot of chili, turned on the fireplace and we watched the draft all night Thursday (and much of Friday’s coverage, too).

I am one lucky man!