As a baseball fan, what makes opening day so special to you?

Question

As a player, there is nothing like the feeling of stepping out on the field and looking up to find a cheering fan base at the start of a new season. But I've never felt what it is like to be in the seat of a fan on opening day. Let me know what makes MLB opening day so special to you.

Answer 1

It is the start of all things new, a chance to start fresh. You can again root for the home team who has a chance to go all the way again even though they were in last place last year. It is the sounds, smells and feelings of what makes America. It is the time for future and former ballplayers to be caught up in dreams. The future players are looking for their hero to set the pace for their career in baseball one day and the former players can dream about standing out in left field on a lazy summer evening shagging balls or standing at home plate and swinging for the fence.
It is the time when old men see the sparkle in the eyes of the young child in the stands with his ball glove waiting to catch a foul ball and remembering his own youth in that sparkle.

Answer 2

Well, Johnny, I am glad you asked... What USED to make it so special was seeing you when you PLAYED FOR THE RED SOX!!!

But, since that is water under the bridge... Opening day is a 6am alarm; it's the drive to Boston; the anticipation and excitement of a new season- and new swipe at the pennant; it's FENWAY FRANKS with all the fixings, the smell of the turf, the clay, the sweat...; the history of an old ballpark; the sounds of the crowd; the squeaky seats; the view from the Monster; the cheerleaders and the hecklers. It's the beer and the audible thoughts from the fans in the stands... It's "Sweet Caroline" playing at the stretch. Being able to see Trot up close from second row back at Pesky Pole. It's watching Papi smack one over the John Hancock. A sea of Red and Blue across Fenway... Most of all, it's the feeling that overcomes you to know that so many people believe so deeply in an American tradition- and a team that strives so hard every year.

Walking the gates and seeing the pennants... It's the rich history that you feel. I don't know that it would be the same on any other ball field. What do you think, Johnny? Do you get that same feeling in NY? I guess we know the answer to the question: WWJD?

Answer 3

Opening day for me, is the most exciting time of the year. It's a clean slate for every team, and not just the teams. It's a new season for the fans aswell. Baseball season is the best time of year. Little Leauges have just started playing, highschools have begun their seasons, college teams are in their season too. Then, the show comes around. Everyone knows about it, even if they hate it. Being back in the park after an offseason is enchanting. The atmoshpere of a ballbark can't be replicated by any other sport. While new players of the club are eager to begin their Major League Career, the fans are eager to see what they offer for the team.

When the day comes, you have your ticket with you, in line waiting to enter the park. The anticipation is unbearable, you feel like running through the line and jumping into your seat even thought the game dosen't start for an hour. You see the players warming up and talk about the new rookies the club picked up during Spring Training. You look for the well known names and see them warm up in awe. During batting practice, you watch several baseballs soar over the outfield walls and see a dogpile of people fighting for it. You are ready to watch some professional baseball. As the players take the field, you cheer as loud as you can. The screams are defening, the stadium shakes, and cannot wait for the first pitch. Whether your team wins, or loses, you know that their is a long season ahead, and only wish you could see it all in the park. If their is one thing that opening day does, is reasure you'll be there next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

Answer 4

To be honest opening day is probably the best way to link players and fans together. No matter how much money you make, or what you do, if you are a baseball fan and you have ever had an opportunity to attend an opening day game, you are feeling the same thing those players are feeling on the field. No sport brings together the past, present, and future of the game like baseball does. As an Oakland A's fan I attended many an opening day game as a kid and watched the Rickey Henderson's and Mark McGuire's hop around the field before the first game like 12 year olds on Christmas morning. Maybe the salaries are a bit high, maybe the recent events of the past few years have soured some "casual" fans, but there's still enough class on the field to make opening day so special to me.

Answer 5

As an ex fan, I don't give a rip what you millionaire cry babies are doing on the baseball field. There was a time I fought the crowds in LA to get to Dodger Stadium and to Orange county for the Angels and even hung out with some of the Hawaii Islanders in Palm Springs and Indio. I was a fan, I knew players, I knew stats and I loved baseball. The first time the players went out on strike, I was sure it wouldn't last and the season would fire up soon. It never did start. Nothing started but the whining and moaning. That was it for me. No more of my money was going to the cry babies and it has not, not a penny. Then I heard the Big, Bad major leaguers done did it again. Blew another season away. What do you think opening day would be like for you if you really had some fans?

Answer 6

Why is opening day so special for us fans? Well aside for the whole " end of 6 month wait", beer, hot dogs, and new players, the real reason is very simple. No matter what happened last year, whether you came in dead last, lost the LCS on an 11th inning HR or won the WS, thats all in the past.Everybody starts off on the same level/ Everybody has a fresh start. Everybody has a chance. Whatever happened in the past is now history, the time that matters is now. As a fan, you get that " this is our year" feeling and you think that barring injuries and misfortune, your team will have a legitimate chance. Once that first game is over, you dont get that feeling anymore. You've already seen your team in action and you can see whats wrong with your team ( yes, even the Yankees- pitching??????). The Nationals are tied with the Mets, the D-Rays are tied with the Yanks and the Royals are tied with the Tigers. Nobody can take that away from us untill the game starts. Expectations are at its highest at the beginning of the season and you cant wait to see your team in action. As a player, you might think there is nothing better than stepping out on the grass for the first time, but its nothing compared to being seated at your seat before the first pitch. We get to yell at the other team, we get to scream out cheers, we get to boo whenever we want. There is nothing like the comradary you feel once you look around you at the stadium and see 50,000 other people yelling the same thing as you. All with one common enemy... the umpire. There is nothing like it, even more so for the first time in a season.

Answer 7

Baseball is Spring. It's always a new beginning for your team, but sitting in an Opening Day seat is special because - well, you said you get a special feeling seeing the cheering fans? It's the same for us; we look down on the field - the field that is clean and perfect, that's been waiting all winter for the first game of the new season to start - and we see you guys, the players. You're there for us just as surely as we're there for you. Opening Day is like New Year's - it's as if we've never done this before - like we're watching the first baseball game EVER. That's how special it is - that's how it feels in the stands.

Answer 8

As a fan opening day is special because of the anticipation of the new season that lies ahead. New players joining the veterans on the squad all working together to win the World Series. The sounds of the game and the smell of the ballpark are two other things to look forward to on opening day and make any day at the ballpark better than watching the game at home. Seeing the ballpark for the first time after the long winter and noticing any change(s) the owner(s) may have made to the park during the offseaon can be exciting as well. And spending a weekday night under the lights with the family at the ballpark can be an event not soon forgotten.

Answer 9

As a former baseball player at the collegiate and high school levels I too did not know what made opening day so special to the fans. Being a pitcher, throwing the first pitch of the season is a feeling that nothing can match. I believe as a fan, the excitement and the anticipation has built up from the time the World Series ended to opening day. Every fan believes this is the year for their team, everyone starts with the same 0-0 record. The fans anticipate the performance of their stars, and wonder what the additions to their team can bring. The weather is starting to get nicer, and theres nothing better then sitting back and watching your favorite athletes compete in America's national past-time.

Answer 10

The reason Opening Day means so much to me has a lot to do with the emotion that's involved more than anything else. Firstly, OD represents everything that you fondly remember about baseball from your past, whether it was moments in little league, playing catch with your dad or watching as your team won a pennant or a World Series. Secondly, it provides hope and optimism to whatever team you're following. Whether you're a contender or a pretender, everyone starts the year 0-0, hopeful of the season to come. It's a clean slate, a chance to start again. As a Mets fan, I was on the losing side of many a big moment, whether it was Kenny Rogers walking in the winning run against the Braves in the '99 NLCS, The Yankees dominating us in the Subway World Series in 2000, or Adam Wainwright striking out Carlos Beltran looking to end the '06 NLCS. The great thing about opening day in 2000, 2001 and 2007 was that all that was forgotten, it was a new day and a new beginning. Opening Day represents everything good about baseball, where everyone revels in what could be.

Answer 11

Opening Day is just so special because you get that amazing feeling back inside you that is missing during the offseason. You know that this is a whole new start for your team, and that they have another chance to be champions. Especially after how the Yankees ended last season, you have this weird baseball hangover for 5 months and if you are a real baseball fan, you count the days until you get to see your favorite players that you look up to so much back at it again. When you are a baseball fan, sometimes you almost feel like your part of a family with your team, even though you have probably never even met anyone on the team at all. When the season is over, its like your torn away from your family, and Opening Day is like the Family Reunion.

Have a great season Johnny , I love youu!!!!!!
GO YANKEES!!!