The Dodgers 2020 Season Starts Tomorrow and Well…
It’s no surprise that COVID-19 has put a wedge between everyone and their plans. On a personal level, living in a sort of post-apocalyptic world without sports has become oddly normal for me. I say this as someone who went through an incredibly short-lived Korean Baseball phase (go Dinos) and went as far as to watch a guy play NCAA Football ’14 just to see if I could still feel something as a sports fan. None of them really hit the mark and I realized that I just wanted my teams back.
Seeing the Lakers on the road to a potential championship as the team to beat in the NBA was thrilling. To know that my favorite sports team, the Dodgers, was arguably the top contender in the MLB had me incredibly excited for the prospect of being able to celebrate two championships in Los Angeles this year. The Dodgers were also going to be hosting the MLB All-Star game this season which had me eager to possibly attend either the game or Home-Run Derby. On top of all of this, the Rams new SoFi stadium was nearly complete and we would be able to enjoy that new stadium when the NFL returned. Things were looking incredibly promising for a Los Angeles sports fan, until COVID-19.
To add even more context as to why the season looked so hopeful for the Dodgers, in the offseason they had built an absolute powerhouse of a team. They managed to add superstar, 2018 MVP Mookie Betts to an already unfair lineup containing a plethora of young stars with some playoff experience under their belt. On top of Mookie, the Dodgers were able to add a solid starting pitcher in David Price and a flame-throwing relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol to the bullpen. The season was looking incredibly promising and I was beginning to do something that I swore to never do with the Dodgers anymore, get my hopes up.
As a fan who has gone through enough heartbreak in the last 7 years of seeing the Dodgers win the NL West only to be stumped in the playoffs, it only leads to heartbreak. My heart was absolutely gouged out in 2017 when the (cheating) Houston Astros beat us in the World Series in a full 7 games. Coming back in 2018 to overcome a tough 7 game NLCS in order to get back to the World Series, only to get absolutely mopped by Mookie and the Boston Red Sox was miserable. I promised myself then to not get my hopes up in 2019, only to get there and wishfully overlook the eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals. I was left scratching my head after losing to them in the first playoff series, but again it served as a reminder to not get my hopes up for this team.
With that expectation of the Dodgers to make the playoffs I tend to avoid most of the Dodgers regular season games and care even less for Spring Training, knowing that the real baseball doesn’t begin until October. I do keep tabs on how the season as going and manage to go to Dodger Stadium as it truly is one of my favorite things to do in the summertime. The Dodgers generally will celebrate their division title around early September as they clinch their playoff bid. Most fans celebrate with enthusiasm, but I shrug like a girl on the set of ‘My Super Sweet 16’ not getting the perfect interior in her new Mercedes. I promise myself not to care once that NLDS patch gets stamped on the side of new hats and jerseys for the team store. Still, every year I somehow managed to get sucked back into the hope that this year might be different. I quite literally manage to take the saying “hope Springs eternal” for baseball fans and turn it into “hope Falls eternal” for myself as every year my hopes and dreams are shattered. Oddly enough, this season truly does feel really strange though.
I am not sure if it’s the shortened 60 game season, the lack of real, non-cutout fans in the stands, the inability to go to games, knowing that the Astros won’t rightfully get the chirping and boos they deserve this season, the odd timing of everything, me just feeling pessimistic about the majority of things knowing COVID could very well steal it all again, or a combination of it all, but I feel truly “meh” about this year. The Dodgers have absolutely kicked the shit out of the Arizona Diamondbacks in some revamped Spring Training exhibition games and beat the Angels somewhat handily. All of the superstar players are playing up to their potential a mere three practice games in and most fans are excited for this season. I personally don’t feel that eagerness though. It truly feels like it’s an asterisks mark of a championship for whatever team is going to win just based on how odd it all is. I also laugh at all of this knowing that that it will likely be the first time my dreams aren’t crushed and the Dodgers finally win that World Series title; in this obscure 2020 season where I don’t even know if I want it.
Obviously, I am incredibly spoiled to have this mindset as there’s a fair majority of fans around the league (like the Giants) who were likely happy to hit the skip button on the season. Their team sucks and the fact that they get to not have to watch their team get kicked around all season is somewhat of a blessing. Here I am on the other hand complaining that of course my sports team(s) have to be good in this odd era of COVID-19. Still, if I know me, I will likely be rooting louder than anyone should the Dodgers make the playoffs and become a shell of myself should they fall short again. Should they win, I will likely write a blog about how wrong I was now and how this season was actually the most special, important victory in the modern era. I will fight off any criticism thrown their way and here I am already having some wishful thinking like a moron. I suppose that’s the beauty of being a sports fan. I will stake my emotional well-being on whether some grown men win or lose some games. Hopefully, we see a happy, possibly playoff-mustached Nick when/if we get to some playoff baseball in October/September.
Go Dodgers!
Songs played while writing:
Kanye West — 808s & Heartbreak [Album]
Daft Punk — Homework [Album]
Harry Styles — Lights Up
Gorillaz — Dare
