Love Letters From Pronk is an ongoing series where Pronk shares his love for somebody connected to the Cubs. Sometimes funny, sometimes weird, Pronk likes to make 100% sure people know that they are loved, and best expresses that through gushing letters. Today's pick is a bit outside the norm, as Pronk talks about his love for opening day.
Much like spring training, opening day is full of optimism. It is probably my favorite day of the entire baseball season. It represents not only a fresh page, but also the height of optimism. It's impossible to be a 'glass half empty' type of person when the season starts. Everything is full of possibility and promise. Unlike spring training, opening day is a bit more official. It is OFFICIALLY spring. the page has turned.
Leading up to first pitch is the best. No matter who is pitching, they have a chance to dominate. No matter who is in the lineup, it has the chance to be a batting order full of studs. None of the projections matter anymore, because now it is time to play and leave it all out on the field.
Part of what made 2020 so difficult for me was the postponement of opening day, then the uncertainty that we'd even get a season. In year's past, there was always a date circled on my calendar. Last year, not only were we disappointed by the postponement, but there wasn't a make up date listed until much later in the year. The uncertainty threw my head for a loop. Baseball was something always so consistent. Without it, I felt adrift.
I'm glad that this year is a bit more normal. Even though we can't pack Wrigley, we need the consistency that baseball offers us. The constant flow of games gives us little packets of hope, day in and day out. We need the distraction.
I love opening day. More than the playoffs. More than the all star game. More than the convention, or winter meetings. Opening day comes around each year like clockwork, and represents the consistency and hope that baseball gives us.
-Pronk