The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

You're the first college baseball fan I have ever met lol

Ha. You live in Chicago. It's too damn cold for college baseball. It doesn't start getting warm until the season is over. I love college baseball. I played for 4 years and college and then coached in college for 2 more after I graduated. If it paid better I'd still be doing it.

Fair enough. Baseball doesn't have the best reputation up here these days (Exhibit A: The Chicago Cubs in all their glory...)

But growing up in Atlanta I still wasn't that passionate about even professional baseball, I didn't care about the Braves or any other MLB team for that matter. I didn't even know college baseball existed until my freshman year in high school and I still didn't care that much.

The one time I actually watched a game was a few years ago when Oregon State upset North Carolina, what a ride that was.

Most people hate watching baseball because they feel it's dull and slow. I could watch games all day. There is a beauty to a baseball game that 99.9% of people can't appreciate, especially in America where everyone wants constant action and games to move quickly. Every pitch in baseball is a chess game. You focus on that exact pitch for that exact situation, but you also have to think ahead, as far as a future at-bat. You can't get too caught up in the moment because it can all change as quickly as the next pitch.

I played baseball for 4 years. After that, i learned to hate that and all other sports. Lol

Bad experience?

I liked playing it, but everyone took it too seriously. We were just kids, dammit!

Parents take it too seriously. It's rare that kids take it too seriously until at least late in high school.

I did some in grade school, and 1 year in high school. Even in the grade school games, some kids got too into it. I could see why after seeing some of their parents.

Exactly. Overbearing assholes breed more overbearing assholes. It's ruining youth sports.

I totally agree. I'm the kind of guy that just likes to have fun. That's how I do well. If I'm pressured too much (to the extreme point), it won't end well. That's when I started sucking. haha

I'm extremely competitive, but it's an internal thing for me. I wanted to push myself and expected perfection from myself. I wasn't going to jump all over somebody else for screwing up or not playing as well as I thought they could. I hated playing with those guys.

I know I was good, but the last 2 years were miserable for me. It was like the worst job I could have, and not get paid for it. Just a chore those years.

I understand that. I battled that in college off and on. It felt more like a job, but it paid for school, so I can't complain.

The only reason I did it was because my oldest brother did the same thing, but longer, throughout most of his grade and high school career. My second oldest brother and I were thought to be "perfect" for it. lol

I should probably note that I played baseball when I was a kid, just trying to gauge what sports I was good in, and I used to be really good (I made the city's All-Star team in 4th and 6th grade pitching) but after sixth grade I decided to continue along the path of football because I was so much better at that than any other sport.

My interest deteriorated for two reasons. One was that I was I started becoming an adrenaline junkie, and I couldn't get a rush from a sport as slow as baseball. Two, as discussed on here, I couldn't stand all the harassment from parents. One of them called my parents one night demanding to know why I wouldn't play travel baseball, and my dad told the guy to go f*ck himself. Some of the parents were tearing my teammate to shreds, and I didn't want to be around a sport like that. I think because of the pace and individual talent required, it's so much easier to draw opinions on the play of players in baseball than it is in a fast-paced, much more team-oriented sport such as football or basketball.

Make no mistake, I love going to games at Wrigley during the summer because the atmosphere is unlike anything else. Fans don't care if the Cubs win or lose, they just take in an equal amount of summer fun and beer, which I imagine helps to cope with 100+ years of losing. I just refuse to watch baseball on TV because the atmosphere is missing, and from my perspective, that makes the sport unwatchable.

FLAE - I really can't argue with anything you said. I know a lot of people who have quit playing baseball for the exact reasons you mentioned. Parents like that are the reason that there isn't a lot more diversity in youth baseball in America. They can't tollerate anyone who doesn't play year round and on every travel team. I played football, basketball, baseball, and I wrestled up until 11th grade. That was before playing baseball year-round was common. I think that kids who are into sports should play as many sports as possible. It helps gauge their interests and keeps parents from pressuring them in a certain direction. I quit playing the other sports because I knew baseball was going to pay for school, and probably become a career in some form.

I also understand not wanting to watch baseball on TV. The games are completely different when you're at the stadium. One of my best friends lives in Indianapolis, but used to live in Chicago. He always tried to get me to come up and go to a Cubs game. He always told me that if you want to go and watch a baseball game, go see a White Sox game. If you want to go have a great time, drink beer, and see a lot of good looking people, go see a Cubs game.