Opening Day!

How sweet it is! The Tribe smashes the hated White Sox, 10-8, with two of my favorite players, Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta, among the heroes. The Home Opener at The Jake goes in the W column. All is well in Mudville, at least on this day.l

Takes me back to my most memorable Opening Day game in Cleveland. 1975. Frank Robinson, F. Robby, Take Frank to the Bank, managing his first game ever. Puts himself in the starting lineup and smashes a 3-run home run to win the game in front of a sell-out crowd at Municipal Stadium. OMG what a game! Did we scream our lungs out or what?

(Pause as I wipe away a tear or two.)

In earlier years, when we were younger, it often fell to my sainted mother to take us all to Opening Day. If the old man couldn't get off work, she'd pack us into the car and haul us down to the lakefront, wind howling off Lake Erie, the ballpark an absolute refrigerator even when the sun broke through. We didn't care. Opening Day. Ya had to be there. No matter how the rest of the season went--and it usually went very poorly for Tribe fans back then--you couldn't dampen the the thrill of Opening Day. The buzz was everywhere. "This is gonna be the year." "Did ya see that Rookie Max Alvis, what a kid, huh?" "The Rock is back with the Tribe and all will be well again!"

Self-delusion is an essential quality in a Tribe fan. And the delusion is never stronger than on Opening Day.