There are some sports out there that I will never understand how to play. Football, definitely one of them. Curling? I have a higher comprehension of rocket science than I do curling. Biiathlon? Why should anyone on skis have a gun? And that’s why I love baseball. America’s pastime is so easy for all (except my Belgian mother) to understand. You hit a ball, run around some bases, people cheer, and tah-dah! That’s America for you.
Growing up in our nation’s capital, we always went to Baltimore to watch baseball, as they were the closest thing to a hometown team. Until the Nats came in 2005 and all my loyalties shifted. Finally, a DC team! And who cares if we aren’t the greatest. Rome wasn’t built in a day! That was my mentality for a while anyway, until we acquired the Stras-burger-nator. Now I want to win every game.
I went to a game yesterday for Father’s Day, and one today with my amazing colleagues and Strasburg didn’t pitch at either. I feel robbed!
Now if my team isn’t winning the game, I can always find something to keep me entertained, like binoculars and a nice uninterrupted view of the starting team’s butts. When I was in high school and my softball team would go to games together, we brought enough binoculars to put the best birders to shame. Our seats were nosebleed and our hormones were raging. So out came the binoculars and those Orioles posteriors in the mid-90s did we ever appreciate.
So Strasburg, please do some squats to keep us happy. And then win a few games and make us even happier. Go Nats!
All our hope lies in the hands of this young man with the prominent ears and the golden arm. Yeah, Strasburg! Here's to the man who inspired a thousand and one sandwiches named after him. Even I plan on chowing down a Strasburger.
Today, on what felt like the last day of winter here in Washington, Georgia and I went to Nationals stadium to watch Nancy Brinker throw the first pitch on Mother’s Day. I collaborate with Susan G Komen often for work and just adore their staff and Nancy Brinker herself. I mean, not only did she fulfill her promise to her sister who died from breast cancer, but she turned the non-profit into a powerhouse and had the foresight to pick a very flattering shade of pink as its signature color.
So wearing said color, Georgia and I, along with other pink-clad press watched as the Nationals used pink bats to clobber the Florida Marlins. We also binged on Ben’s Chili Bowl and gave every man around us “Gentleman’s Names” like that of center fielder Nyjer Morgan. A national security expert sitting next to us became “Desmond Cashmere,” as we decided that all such names should have a distinguished name to start and then a type of fabric at the end, like Nyjer Morgan’s “Tony Plush.” Perhaps I will go by “Gwenivere Velveteen,” if I ever play pro-baseball.
Georgia is graduating from GW this weekend and I am very very sad to see her leave Washington. It was great to be silly with her for a few hours before she goes and we spent an excessive amount of time deciding on the song that would play when we were at bat, if we were to join the Nationals. This was an important conversation to have as the odds of are high. I obviously chose “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” by Big and Rich and Georgia selected something rough and tumble from the Phantom of the Opera. Guaranteed crowd favorites! Baseball, mother’s day, girl bonding, and the battle to save boobs = a fabulous day.
Susan G. Komen on the left and her sister, Ambassador Nancy Brinker on the right. Nancy is the number one protector of boobs (and lives) in the land.
Nancy Brinker accepting the Presidential medal of Freedom from the man himself earlier this year. I was lucky enough to attend her reception afterwards at the Hay Adams and stood less than a foot away from Ann Currie. In fact, we literally rubbed elbows. She has really good skin and looks fetching in pink.
Washington National’s outfielder Nyjer Morgan is hilarious. White shiny shoes, argyle socks, big diamond earrings – he looks like he should be running a record label, not batting for the Washington Nats. And because of all this, he is my new favorite baseball player. Today, for our June philanthropy issue, we had a photo shoot with five of the Nationals players including Sir Morgan. They were all really personable and cute but Nyjer stole the show. He came in with his own camera crew and did a ridiculous pose every time our flashbulbs would go off. He even interviewed us and then told us about his work with the Kidney Foundation.
I think the best thing about famous people or pseudo-famous people is when they are tremendously silly. So many celebs take their fame soooo seriously. They would never invent an alter gentleman ego like Nyjer did with Tony Plush. He also declared that his DJ name is DJ Nij-Nnn-Nnn-Nnn-Nice, named his car Charlene because she “rides real clean,” and is dedicated to playing baseball in stirrups. The man is a big barrel of ridiculousness and I love it. In a city that is filled with a lot of boring people in blazers, it’s nice to have a world class eccentric slugging the ball for us. We simply must start importing more people from California.
Nyger, on the left, is a lot more actor/musicianish than a baseball player should ever be. He's actually silly and hilarious, it's just not normal!
![[del.icio.us]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[Technorati]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://nakedthanks.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
