August 22, 2014: 38 Special

The number 38…  what famous athletes have donned that number?  Think about it.  There are not many.  I’ll give you two:  Mr. Bloody Sock and the only Chicago 38 I can think of, Danieal Manning.  We’re not going to talk about Schilling.  Manning on the other hand is the only 38 I can think of in Chicago sports; it’s not even that easy to look up.  First of, why does he spell Daniel like he does, and secondly, thank you for falling down in the Super Bowl; his most memorable/infamous moment.  He wasn’t a bad player overall, and as far as 38s go, he stands out in my head.  There is another 38 today, and that’s me.

What does turning 38 mean?  It means you’re getting old, and 2 years closer to a biggie.  Well past my 21st birthday and my golden birthday of 22, there are not that many big ones left; although we’re going to keep celebrating like they are.  After all, we only get one of these days every year, so that in itself makes it special.  Part of the celebration this year is going to the Cubs game; a tradition that we started last year, that we may try to keep going.  Last year was a rain delayed game vs the Nationals, while this year we’ll see another team from the northeast in the Orioles.  We’ll break down that game in tomorrow’s blog.  Meanwhile, let’s move on from an unremarkable number 38 to something that IS remarkable.

How about that Chicago Little League team?!?!  They now sit in the finals against Las Vegas.  This makes them at least the 2nd best team in the country, which is an accomplishment in itself.  Will they be able to beat Vegas twice?  Remember, this is the team that killed us the first game.  Are we ready to pay them back?  Either way, it’s nice to see an inner city team from Chicago do well; I was once on a team like that.

Our “inner city” team was not all-black, but being from Harrison Park, it definitely was inner city.  We played out of state one time.  It was a trip to Iowa for a tournament in which we would meet 2 of the top 5 teams in the state (Dad check my facts).  So here’s this bunch of kids from the big city going out to the country to play these top rated teams.  Guess who came out on top.  It wasn’t even close really.  I don’t think we swept them across every age group, but it was close.  My team annihilated them.  It was a blowout from the get go.  How good are teams from Iowa anyways?  Well, I’m not sure, but I know our team that year was pretty good.  In fact, I bet our team COULD have went on to something bigger that year.  Looking back, a lot of those kids on that team, had a rough future ahead of them; that tournament, those games, that trip, was probably one of the best moments in their lives; it was one of the best times of my life.
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To get a chance to shine on the big stage, and achieve great success, is awesome.  That’s what these kids from Chicago are doing now, and I love it.  Who knows what the future will hold for these kids.  It ain’t easy out there, and I’m sure some of their paths will be rough, but for now, for this moment, they are all stars.  Hopefully this will propel some positive vibes throughout ALL the inner city neighborhoods, not only in Chicago, but across the US.  They need positive role models; everybody doesn’t have those great parents that some of us are blessed with.  Seeing this team achieve great success should give all of them some faith; everybody & anybody can do it.  Good luck boys; we’ll be rooting for you.

Another thing that makes my day special every year is being born on my parents’ anniversary.  So regardless of what year it is for me, you add 6, and that’s their number.  I’m sure you can think of a lot of popular 44s.  So Happy Anniversary B&A; another great example of success that can be achieved.

If I ever figure out how to post video and audio on this blog, I would post my 2 year old son singing Happy Birthday to me right here.  This is what makes this 38 special.  That and the person that taught him to do that… Time to get ready for Wrigley.