Play Ball!

In the film Bull Durham, Susan Sarandon's character declares that her preferred institution of worship is "the Church of Baseball."

In Cincinnati, high school bands march through Findlay Market on Opening Day.

Well, much like a religious institution, baseball has its own credos and ceremonies, and even a holiday: Opening Day. For generations of baseball lovers, Opening Day has been about more than just the first pitch of the season; it's about the singing of the National Anthem, mustard-drenched hot dogs, and meeting up with old friends. It's about summertime lurking just around the corner.

And it's about that happy shout: "Play ball!"

Nowhere is this yearly event marked more joyously than in Cincinnati, OH, which has hosted an Opening Day parade every year since the Reds won the World Series in 1919. High school bands march through Findlay Market, along with floats decorated with flowers from local garden clubs, and runners, who, in honor of the city's love of pork, dress up like swine.

"It's an unofficial city holiday," says 41-year-old Neil Luken. Luken, owner of Findlay Market's Charles Bare & Sons Meats, has organized the parade since 1998. "It's a grassroots effort. The local jump rope and unicycle clubs and former players always take part. One year, we had a 'Pete Rose look-alike contest.' Turns out a lot of people look like Pete Rose!"

Another major Opening Day celebration takes place in St. Louis, MO, where, for decades, the season has started with Clydesdales parading around the Cardinals' Busch Stadium. The players then make a loop in a motorcade of Mustang convertibles. When Ozzie Smith was on the team, he'd come onto the field on Opening Day doing a backflip.

"Opening Day makes me think of my youth. It brings back that feeling of 'Wow! School is almost over and it's going to start getting warm!'" says Matt DeMargel, 32. Now the director of promotions for the North Carolina's minor league Durham Bulls, DeMargel grew up in Missouri and never missed an opening day at Busch Stadium as a kid. "Because it happens in the spring, it's a feeling I think doesn't exist so much with other sports, unless you look forward to the weather turning south," he says. "I think it transcends baseball. It's about life."

Posted on April 03, 2006