What is that smell in the air? That sweet scent of leather gloves, fresh cut grass and steamed hot dogs. That optimistic smell of new uniforms, new players and a new season. Opening day is here for the New York Mets and I cannot be happier. At 1:10 p.m. the Mets season will kick off and despite all the negativity surrounding the team, I am happy and positive this morning. Opening day presents the only time during the baseball season where every team is on an equal playing ground. Each team has zero wins and zero losses. (Forget about the Red Sox and Yankees who played last night, briefly) Every team is beginning as fresh as the unsullied uniforms and packed infield dirt.
The best way to compare opening day to music is by imagining a simple guitar riff. Go ahead, imagine it. It’s chord progression is probably not so original. It is like 100 different chord progressions that you have heard before. But, it has potential. Soon it will be transformed into a dulcet song with a variety of other instruments and sounds. A vocal track may be placed on top of it. Soon enough that chord progression will be in the background. It will always be there, the original sound that inspired the rest of the song. That is what opening day is to me. It is that which inspires the rest of the complicated season. It is the opening hope and optimistic beginning.
I have been a New York Mets fan my entire life and opening day has always provided me with a wide smile. I remember my father taking me out of school early to drive to Shea stadium and watch the New York Mets open the season. The team may not be great this year. In three weeks I may be saying how much they are a waste of my time. But, at least for this one afternoon, I can sit back on my couch and tell my dad that I believe. Because, just like all other baseball fans out there, opening day gives us a chance to be optimistic. Opening day is why baseball is America’s pastime.
Here is a great article from Bleacher Report: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/373383-new-york-mets-opening-day-optimism
And for a little music how about some “Meet the Mets”
Enjoy opening day!
The Music Court 
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