The Finale

It wasn’t easy growing up a Washington Senators fan. Although in retrospect, I think it led me to become a grass roots baseball fanatic, someone who comes to the game for the love of the details — the stadium, the uniforms, the personalities. It wasn’t about winning because we hardly ever did.

My father would take me to games every now and then, and I loved that. The thrill of spending time with him outweighed the fact that I had suspicions that girls didn’t “do” baseball in 1962. In the back of my mind it bothered me that I was different, but actually I loved it. It kept me out of the game of “being a girl." I didn’t play with dolls. I drew cartoons AND I went to baseball games.

The beauty of baseball became even clearer to me later, after girlhood. Living in New York City, I became a Mets fan. In Washington, I was coached to hate the Yankees; plus, I discerned that I could not be a Yankees fan as a newcomer to the city. One had to earn it somehow. But that was okay. I discovered the wonderful 1986 Mets team, and that year they won the World Series. They were funny, talented, seemingly nice, and a handsome bunch. That series re-ignited a passion for the subtleties of the game — it's inherent drama — that has stayed with me.

I never let go of the love of baseball and all its details, but I did eventually come to love the Yankees. I still draw cartoons and I remain an odd girl — although seeing so many little girls at the stadium now, liking the game is not just a boy thing anymore. The Senators are gone, but I will always thank them for their losing ways. That said, it is more fun to win.

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Cartoon by Liza Donnelly

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