sitting in comerica  park

at the detroit tigers game

surrounded by these kids from canada

here with their team

thirty two strong

for a big night out at the ballpark

so excited for everything

good seats, cotton candy, no rain, family, friends, coaches

calling out to the pro players they recognized

dancing, cheering, singing

their own faces on the big screen

mitts ready

and

especially, especially, especially, especially

for the four foul balls they ended up with

they simply could not believe their luck

overflowing with happiness

at times sharing seats and laps to get an even better look

they could barely contain themselves

with smiles from here to there

and this guy

who made it his personal mission

to come over and tell them

to sit down and stop having so much fun

every chance he had

yet

in the end

the tigers

(and especially, especially that guy)

both lost

it was not even close

 the kids had clearly won it all.

—

 “baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up.”

-bob lemon