Warmth

William in my inbox:

I really liked that passage you posted from the Leahy book. Baseball has the outdoors, and a fly ball within the poles theoretically can fly forever and remain in play. Baseball celebrates the grass and the natural world, and also is in harmony with the progress of the seasons. As Giamatti said: “The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.”

Following that, we might say that basketball is our indoor refuge from the cold. As Leahy intimates, we are fleeing not only the cold of the winter; we seek a warmth of many dimensions. For us, it includes not only Belk, but Johnston, and so many memories of players and fellow fans from days ago and from years ago. And of all the games, many of which, as Leahy notes, contained at least one moment of magic for those who were paying attention.

Right now I can imagine walking down from the football field on a cold night, seeing the lights of Belk, and blending in with the crowd flowing into the doors. The way that image has come to me so vividly tells me that I am quite ready for the first game of the next season. It will be as good as ever. Nothing is missing, really.