Now, I have been a Yankee fan for as far back as I remember. I still have some old cards that used to come in those packs with a stick of bubble gum inside them. Every week I would go to the comic book store, grab a few packs of baseball and basketball cards to put in my binder. I would bring that binder to my baseball games and practices so that before and after the game, I could compare and brag about what cards I had that my teammates wanted.
Tonight's win by the Yankees brought me back to those days.
After the initial excitement of the win settled down (I'm still pretty pumped about it), I was sitting, watching the montage of Yankee reactions from various camera angles. It brought me back to a year when I was playing in little league, on the team with one of the worst records in the league. By a miracle we made the playoffs as the last seed. We ended up in the Championship game. We lost in the Championships, and I vaguely remember how that loss felt. But I vividly recall the game that we won to put us in the championships...as well as each unexpected, hustle-hard, tense game that led up to that championship. Those are feelings that I will not forget.
Seeing Teixera, Jeter and A. Rod meet midfield to embrace and jump around like 10 year old kids reminded me of myself. For a second, I got goosebumps. The camera switched over to Joe Girardi, who was once a teammate to some of the current Yankees (Jeter, Posada, Petitte), and he couldn't contain himself. After the final pitch, Posada and Mo Rivera calmly pumped their fists as they walked toward each other, and within only a few steps, could not help but lightly jog to one another, smiling gleefully in ways that only one's inner child could muster up, leading to a excited embrace.
I remember feeling like that and for a second, while watching the Yankees rejoice, I was stuck, seeing myself as a kid trying to contain my excitement but failing to restrain it.
And it got me thinking, "this is the feeling that everyone person wants to feel". Many of us want to be the best at what we do and we wish to acheive greatness. The icing on the deal would be to be recognized for proving that we are the best at what we do. We all want to win! From kids...to adults. That excitement that we feel when we win, and the pain that we feel after we lose (LA Angels tonight), is a universal, ageless feeling.
My desire to succeed and become the best at what I do was boosted up watching the conclusion this game in ways that only NY sports can do for me.
Everyday, believe in yourself. Do what you love. Be what you love. What you love is ageless, timeless, universal. Make it count and the world will watch.
Also, to put something into perspectiv: prime time baseball players get paid millions to sustain a strong .300 batting average. That means they get on base 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time, they're out. But when that .300 counts, they're expected to produce.
Think about that...
I'm just hoping the Knicks can give me this feeling again soon :(
Over and out.
--
a.Rias
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