March 4, 2019: Baltimore

I always like visiting places I haven’t been before, although since this trip was for work, not sure how much of the city I’m really going to see.  A meeting that was initially to be held in Memphis, where I have never been either, was switched to Baltimore… to the East Coast!

First thing when I think of Baltimore is the Orioles.  They were the team that beat the first Chicago team I really followed back in 1983, knocking the Sox out of the playoffs.  Of course I think of Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray, and Cal Ripken.  Camden Yards comes to mind, as one of the first “new” stadiums.  Still haven’t been there.  I think of Machado, his original team, before all this crazy guaranteed money.  I mean, if San Diego could afford him, why not Baltimore?  The next team, and only other team in Baltimore, is the Ravens.  I did not get to see either of the stadiums, although I was told they were located right next to each other.  I landed with my Bulls ski cap on, and called the hotel to pick me up in their shuttle.

Guy picked me up, and immediately I started asking him if he was a fan.  He said he was much more of a Ravens fan.  He thinks they’ll be a lot better because Jackson will be a lot better next year.  I asked him what he thought about Ray Lewis getting away with murder… just kidding.  He wasn’t much of an Orioles fan… so I asked him about the other sports.  I asked him since DC was close, were his teams the Wizards and the Capitals.  He wasn’t into hockey, but he did have a basketball team… the Bulls!  Did he see my hat?  Was he working a tip?  Well, it worked.  We started talking about the Bulls, their hey day, and of course, Michael Jordan.  I let him give his opinion, and this is where he earned his bones; no question that MJ is the greatest to ever play.  He did say LeBron was a great player in his own right, but that there’s only one MJ.  Thank you… thank you very much.

It was at that point that I made a decision.  I want to make a list; a list of opinions on sports, like players people like or don’t like… teams that you like or don’t like… opinions on important matters such as the whole ridiculous MJ vs LBJ debate.  It’s going to be kind of my rule book going forward, and this will be rule #1:  Anybody that thinks Lebron is better than Jordan is an idiot, and I will not respect their opinion on anything sports related.  Let that be the first commandment; so let it be written, so let it be done.

This guy wasn’t on that list; he knew what was up.  It’s really not that hard to come to that decision; I think we’ll get a bit more into that later in the week as Lebron will pass Jordan on the all-time scoring list.  But as far as Monday night, it ended on a good note with that short discussion about sports.  I flipped him 5 bucks, and I headed up to my room; time for bed.