"Viewing the Game"

I went with my son to Turner Field to watch the Atlanta Braves play the Boston Red Sox. It was a beautiful evening for baseball with a near capacity crowd. It was the Sunday Night ESPN game with a national audience tuning in. The stage was set for a great pitching match up between John Smoltz of the Braves and Curt Shilling of the Red Sox. I was amazed at how many Red Sox fans made it out for the game. While I love to watch the Braves on TV, there is just something about "being there."

It was a great game that evening and the crowd really got into the game. There is just something about going to a night game where the graphics, diamond vision, and all the lights put together a beautiful scene. You can see just about anything you want to see at a Braves game. What a diverse group of people coming together to enjoy a good ballgame.

It was not until the 6th inning that my son (Paul) and I realized something that was happening right in front of us. A couple sat in front of us and the gentleman was faithfully listening to the game on his radio. That's not unusual and I frequently take my radio to pick up on commentary of the game by the Braves announcers. We came to realize that this man was blind. He could not see the players, the bright lights, the faces of people around him, or anything else. My son and I were touched by this experience. This man was not letting obstacle and hurdles in his life keep him from doing what he wanted to do. He experienced the game as he heard the crowd and this for him was a night to remember.

From the 6th inning on, we viewed the game in a different way. My thanks to this blind man who taught many of us something about how to view the game.