ABC 7 News | Nats and Baseball: 'It's Spring!'

Leon Harris Blog

Monday March 31, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Nats and Baseball: 'It's Spring!'

posted by Leon Harris

category: Sports

What a treat to get to see the Nats take on the Braves in the inaugural game at Nationals Park!

It was a work night for me and my buddy Tim Brant, as we broadcast a live hour-long program right up to game-time. Tim has been there a number of times, but I'm just like, maybe 40,000 of the people who were at Nationals Park Sunday night - it was my first time seeing in person something I'd read or heard about for months.

I thought I knew what to expect, but at the same time expected to be a little disappointed with SOMETHING. You know? As it turned out, I got a little tingly (to steal a line from Chris Matthews) when I hit the Concourse and first smelled the food and the grass. Man, that moment said "It's spring!" to me in the most visceral way.

The stadium and the game didn't disappoint. The venue is both big enough and small enough - it feels like what you're watching is world-class, but intimate enough to make you feel a little special for having gotten in.

And you know what else seemed cool to me? I'm sure they were there, but I didn't see stands overrun with pols, celebs and bigwigs. Maybe it's just where I walked, but that was fine with me.

What makes a ninth-inning walk-off homer to win an inaugural game a storybook ending for me is knowing that a lot of hardworking regular folks got to enjoy it, too.