The Spirit of the Game
By Jeremy Gulley
To set the stage for this column, I think it important to take a minute to remind readers that the Kansas City Royals used to be good. When I was a child, I saw them win multiple American League titles, play in the World Series twice, and win once. My childhood and the Royals are linked, even though the modern day iteration of the great team I grew up with is long gone, they still have a special place in my life.
One reason that I think the Royals are etched in my heart is that I barely watched them on television.
Sure, the games played during the day and the really big important games I might have watched, but most came to me through the radio. I remember Denny Matthews’s voice painting the picture of the boys in blue as they struggled through inning after inning. Whether they won or lost, the image portrayed by Matthews inspired me, spurred my imagination, and made me feel that I was part of the game.
I remember going to games with my family and leaving early because we had to get to bed so we wouldn’t be too tired for school or church the next day. In the back seat of our car, Matthews’ voice would fill the air, keeping us informed as to how things were going since we left.
Then, when we got home, I’d climb into bed and turn on the radio to catch the end. Especially for the games of the Royals of the 70s and 80s, catching the end was crucial – they were masters at the come back: “down by 3 in the bottom of the ninth, Brett up to bat . . .” I knew things were going to work out just fine.
By experiencing baseball in this way, my love and connection grew deeper. I brought my imagination to the game. I got to paint my own picture of the field, the players, the smell of the stadium, the sound of cheering fans. Everything was mine. Matthews was the author; I was the director.
Today we have more TV stations than we know what to do with. We can watch just about anything we want to anytime we want to. My regret with this is that it has caused us to be passive participants in the game. Everything is done for us – slick production, on-screen score board, commercials that are better than the game, and a you-don’t-have-to-think announcing crew who tell us everything we need to know.
In an effort to try to not make this a “back in my day” rant, I will admit that I love ESPN. I like cool graphics and appreciate technology as much as everyone else.
But I miss the days when my imagination was the catalyst for the game. I miss the days when the best commercial was for Hamm’s Beer (“from the land of sky blue waters . . .”) and the forced, untimely pauses caused by station identification breaks served to aid in the drama by making us wait.
The thing about TV is that one game is just like the rest – the announcers are vanilla and lacking in personality (I’m sure they’re told to not get in the way of the game), the camera angles are identical and there is nothing to distinguish one from the other.
Perhaps one reason I love baseball so deeply is because I experienced it in person and through the radio, which allowed me to create my own space.
My thoughts on the Royals of today, whether on radio or television, will have to wait for another column, but because of the radio in my room filling me with the sound of their glory days, they’re still my team.
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Posted by admin
on Mar 9 2011. Filed under Jeremy Gulley, Opinion.
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