Opening Day=National Holiday?

When I wake up on the morning of Opening Day, I am delighted and hopeful to view the Cubs and White Sox in action. I say the word hopeful because every year I am stuck in school, missing the first seven or eight innings of Opening Day. My delighted mood turns into misery when I realize that another Opening Day has passed without me being able to watch the full slate of games occurring that day. I am not suggesting that I should ditch school this year to finally get an opportunity to witness all of the Opening Day festivities, but I do feel that this country should receive that day off to observe America’s national pastime. Apparently Ozzie Smith and Budweiser agree with my thinking that Opening Day should be considered a national holiday. From what I have heard, Smith has partnered with Budweiser to create an online petition about this idea. If the petition merits 100,000 signatures by the end of this month, it will be passed off to President Obama who could sign it into effect, making Opening Day in  baseball a national holiday. Believe it or not, nearly 20 million people have admitted to skipping out on work or school to watch or go to an Opening Day game. As of this morning, nearly 58,000 people agree that Opening Day is worthy of a day off of work or school. Although the odds for this idea to be put into action are slim, I am sure it would mean the world to all Major League Baseball fans for this idea to go into effect. I am a true supporter of this conception and my main reasoning is because I will finally get a chance to kick back and watch some Opening Day baseball. To me, Opening Day is the most special day throughout the baseball season. We get to watch players who are energized and ready to play some great baseball. Not one player is experiencing late-season fatigue or other injury woes. We get to see rookies take their first swings as Major League Baseball players. The National Anthem and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” are sung with authority and praise. We all forget about our issues for a couple hours and root for our hometown teams. There are no disappointments, no not on this day. We relish the thought of our team prevailing as we add relish to our Chicago-style hotdog.  We share bonding moments with our friends and our family members. This day signals the true beginning of the Spring and Summer months. We wear our various team apparel; Cubs jerseys, White Sox hats, Cubs sunglasses, Sox shorts, and other items to signal which team we are pulling for. Sure, we may not see our favorite team win, but the memories and the experiences will be cherished forever. Instead of teachers hounding us about homework or bosses demanding that our tasks must be complete, we could listen to the majestic voices of Len Kasper or Hawk Harrelson. We could learn new baseball skills from Jim Deshaies or Steve Stone. We could witness a perfect game or no-hitter or even a multi-home run game. The possibilities are infinite when it comes to Opening Day. If you are a true baseball fan, you will support the effort being made by Ozzie Smith and Budweiser. This cause is for the good of all Americans, whether they appreciate baseball or not. This is America’s pastime and it should be honored with a national holiday. Here is the link to signing the petition. You must be at least 18 years of age to sign it. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/declare-major-league-baseball-opening-day-national-holiday/3XNmgfBb Check it out and make sure to view my podcast, which will be up later this week!