Most of us have been raised to accept baseball as America’s pastime, but this year, in the wake of a country coming together for 10 magical innings, it might mean more than ever.
As we’ve learned over the 2016 election (in which you absolutely should vote), political allegiances can change over the years, often to the point of contention. Baseball loyalties, however, are passed down via thicker bonds, the classic blood against political waters, and with those ties we find our fellowship at its purest, our spirits transcendent.
When the Cubs won their first title in 108 years, fans turned the Sheffield Wall at Wrigley Field (see above, photo credit) into a memorial for loved ones who died too soon to be a part of the celebration. By inspiring these stories of generational givings, the deep cuts of influence on culture, and the endless tears that pour from each, this World Series has connected many of us at a time when we’ve never felt further apart.
The stories are everywhere. From Victor Aragon‘s “What the Chicago Cubs Win Means to Me” to the touching story of the man who drove 600 miles to keep a promise to his late father, this pastime has become an obsession that has afforded America a bit of much-needed hope and healing. Baseball is an American game, and we Americans have never loved it more.
They say there is no crying in baseball, and they are so very, very wrong.
IN THE NEWS, CUBS EDITION
Here are few more heartfelt hits showcasing the familial impact of baseball fandom:
- The View from Section 416: The World Series at Wrigley with My Dad
- Watch Son Surprise His Dad With World Series Tickets To Game At Wrigley
- Josh Tomlin’s dad, Jerry, attends Game 3 just months after becoming paralyzed: “No way I was going to miss this”
- What of the lifelong Cubs fans who departed before it came?
- Hey Pop, we went all the way!
IN THE NEWS
Want to close the pay gap between men and women? Forbes says dads are the answer.
The “dad bod” may have had its 15 minutes, but according to The Guardian, it’s still an attractive, healthy option.
“The difficulty in engaging fathers with parenting programs is something that urgently needs addressing.”
Do your kids have monsters in their closet? Remember, they’re just collecting screams to reduce their carbon (clawed, hoofed, other) footprint.
It’s @Movember 1st! Join @CityDadsGroup @AHDConvention @LifeofDadShow & us in supporting the #MovemberDads team! https://t.co/LRiMItmIMZ pic.twitter.com/B3QxbgtuxK
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) November 1, 2016
From the “our kids are better than us” file: “If we’re not being part of the solution, what are we teaching our children?”
The Huffington Post features Jon Morin’s story about how too many educators tend to look at fathers, or worse, to ignore them altogether.
Halloween isn’t the only thing that changes due to fatherhood, but it certainly has the most candy.
Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow night! Be sure to set your clocks back and enjoy that extra hour of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. #parenting
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) November 4, 2016
Remember playing as a kid? Like actual playing? It was a lot like this, without a helicopter in sight.
Are your kids into bottle flipping? It’s okay; let the plastic fly, and go with the flow (just recycle when they’re done).
A new study has confirmed what we long suspected: Kids of LGBT parents are doing just fine.
ICYMI (because #WorldSeries): “Daddy Lessons” from @Beyonce and @dixiechicks absolutely owned the #CMAawards50. https://t.co/sTTtlwwdLS
— Dad 2.0 Summit (@dad2summit) November 3, 2016
PORCHLIGHT POSTS
- The Good Men Project shares Don Blackwell’s heartbreak in “A Letter to the Child I Never Met.”
- Chad R. MacDonald contributes his Halloween lessons to City Dads Group with “The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Trick-or-Treat.”
- “Daddy, What is Hate?” is a pretty heavy question, but (un)fortunately DadNCharge, aka Chris Bernholdt, had a prominent example at the ready.
- Dave Lesser of Amateur Idiot/Professional Dad has had the Trump conversations with his kids, but this time he took a different approach in “Talking to My Kids About Hillary Clinton.”
- Thinking about having a midlife crisis? David Vienna from The Daddy Complex says he’s earned his, and he’s going all-in (like a boss).
Chicago has its championship parade today (complete with a blue-dyed river!), but for us the true Series capper was Cubs manager Joe Maddon putting on his late father’s cap, and then, suddenly overcome by the moment, launching the hug heard ’round the world. Enjoy the goodwill, Cubbies, before you win the next five or six Series, and everyone starts hating your guts.
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