Saturday, November 17, 2007

Second thoughts on Joe

As I listened to all the tributes yesterday about Joe Nuxhall, I couldn't help but be struck by one common theme. Joe never could understand what all the fuss was about.

And that quality was really why he was so beloved by en entire city.

That humility is so rare, especially in today's sports world, that it's almost
unrecognizable to a fan.

Joe was baseball. He's wasn't serious & complicated. We was slow and an eternal optimist. He was everything that epitomizes 15 games out in blazing August heat. That was what the fans always tuned in for.

It's weird. When I was a kid, I listened to all the games on the radio. But as I got older, my resentment with various strikes and lockouts had me tainted about the game. My patience as an older man isn't close to what it was as a kid. I cannot stand to watch a full baseball game anymore...

But Joe took it back and embraced. Just like your grandpa never judges you, he just gives you another Butterfinger candy bar. And people loved him back the same way.

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