As a girl, you get told to play with Barbie dolls, My Little Pony, and Polly Pocket. However, I wanted nothing more than to play outside with a basketball, baseball or anything that was related to sports. I grew up around sports. Possibly earlier than most others even think about sports, my dad had me running in races. Being daddy’s little girl, I started to run with him in races such as Celebration in the Oaks run in City Park.

At the age of six I started picking up sports, playing basketball and possibly the cutest “little kid” sport of all – tee ball.

While I stuck to playing basketball and picked up possibly every other sport such as volleyball and soccer, there was still one sport that I loved to watch – baseball.

Most people believe that the sport one chooses to play is their favorite sport, but that is not the reality. I played tee ball and softball for a short time, but did not continue. Instead I stuck to volleyball and basketball. I even traveled playing volleyball for teams Blue Crab and Cayenne and basketball for Lady Pride and Southern Belles.

Even though I loved to play volleyball and basketball, nothing beat sitting in stands or foldout chairs for countless hours listening to the clank of a baseball hitting an aluminum bat. Whether I was watching a friend play or watching the Zephyrs, I loved the sport of baseball.

I remember sitting outside for a whole day getting sun burned no matter how much sun block I used, then getting bitten by some of the hundreds of mosquitoes that flocked to the baseball field. That night I went home and was driven out of my mind by the itchiness I felt, but couldn’t scratch because I was sunburned.

Despite the sunburn and mosquito bites, I still went out to see the games time after time- because of my love for the game.

In my opinion, nothing beats the smell of newly cut grass and the dirt that covers the diamond.

Some people would say the sport of baseball is slow. In fact, it is not. Between different pitches and the amount of stolen bases, as well as the anticipation of how well players hit the ball and how many the game saving plays are made, cause the game to go by quickly.

I attended the Colonels baseball intrasquad games this past weekend and I fell in love with the game all over again. Even though the Colonels scrimmaged against each other, their hearts were in every play. The game did not count for their record, but the players still gave their all.

Baseball season is possibly my favorite time of the year. Even though I am not a big hot dog fan, which is mostly associated with baseball games, I still go out with my hat and sunglasses and anxiously await every play.

The Colonels baseball season starts on Feb. 20th and I challenge my fellow baseball fans to “pack the bleachers” in support of the team. Experience the true feel of baseball.