Rebuilding Rob

Monday is Opening Day in Detroit – that is Opening for the 2015 Major League Baseball Season.

Opening Day is something like a holiday in Detroit – as I’m sure it is in many, if not most, Major League cities.  Over the last 2 decades, it has become something of a tradition in my family as well.  Back in 1998 (or was it 99?)  My Dad started purchasing a partial season ticket package for the Detroit Tigers.

For the Tigers, as I assume it is with other teams, even the 21 game partial season ticket packages have included tickets to Opening Day.  So every year, either The Old Man, Phred, LeRoy, myself – all of us and/or our significant others have attended every Opening Day since.  In fact, when I moved Down South during My Previous Life, I told my parents”If I only make it home twice per year, it will be for Christmas and Opening Day”.  During my 8 years there, I probably made it home for as many Opening Days as I did Christmases.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, baseball is the great unifier in my family.  My brother, sister and I (and to some extent, my father before his passing) don’t have a whole lot in common.  We don’t all agree on politics and religion is basically a taboo subject among us.  But baseball –  Detroit Tiger baseball more specifically – is something we all enjoy.  Its one of the few things we all have in common and we all enjoy.

Last year was the last Opening Day my father ever saw.  I am happy to no end that I was able to be there with him.  I am all-the-happier still that The Auteur was able to be there with me and experience Opening Day.  Obviously, tomorrow will have a much different feel.  It will be the first Opening Day without The Old Man.  It may be the last Opening Day I attend for some time.  My siblings and I haven’t discussed whether or not we’ll keep getting season tickets for the Tigers beyond this year.  This could be the end of a tradition, in more ways than one.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

• A Different Kind of Opener: Comfort, Cost, and Connection
• Loyalty: The Two-Way Street and the Short Leash
• From Atlas to the Red Fist: Why the Detroit Tigers’ New Kit Inspired My Own
• Wait, we’re the same age?
• Rob Reviews: Daredevil: Born Again, episodes 2.2 and 2.3

The article “Curtain Call” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.