Six Years Ago

Six long years ago, I willingly spent my hard-earned money to come to Mavericks' first-round playoff games. Now, I am getting paid to attend the first two games (and more, if necessary) of the Mavericks' first-round series against Portland and I am not exactly thrilled to be here. The Mavs broke my heart in 2006 and then crushed it in 2007. By the time they were choking in the first round again in 2008, I'd moved on. 

This is the first Mavericks game I've been to since Humble Billy's departure. I am not sure if I'll be able to tell how many foul shots anybody has. This is the first time I've seen Jason Kidd in a new-era Mavs jersey, too. I'm not sure if I feel old or young watching Jason Kidd play now. He's one of the only players left (along with Shaq) I watched as a kid. Other than all the new construction that cropped up around the arena since the last time I attended a Mavs game as a fan, I am not sure if there too many substantive differences with this team. Who knows, though. Maybe with everybody predicting another first round disappointment, the Mavericks will surprise everybody again and actually win.

Five Years Ago

Five years ago today-ish (Sunday, if we're going to be particular), I was also at the Ballpark for a Rangers-Red Sox Opening Day. The circumstances were somewhat different. Five years ago, I had lied to get out of work and picked up my brother after his first-period history test from school for a "doctor's appointment," (he had a note from my mother). Today, I am working Opening Day. Six years ago-ish, I was also working Opening Day, but back then I was wearing a rather unflattering uniform and making not much more than minimum wage. My job description then included calling security on a drunk and unruly fan in a Yankees A-Rod jersey during the sixth inning. My job description now may include blocking drunk and unruly fans from the Star-Telegram's Live Chat during the game. I guess some things don't change too much.

Five years ago, my brother and I were seventh in line to get into the Ballpark and were invited, as eager beavers, to hold the Texas flag on Greene's Hill during the National Anthem. Today, I will be sitting in the press box during the national anthem. Five years ago, I could come to the game unabashedly decked out in Red Sox gear, although I was teased by my former coworkers. I wore my Curt Schilling jersey tee for Boston's starter. Today, I will have to be somewhat more discreet about any Red Sox apparel I wear. I will find a way, though.

Five years ago, I was a die-hard sports fan who spent entirely too much of my free time working on a blog with so few readers that I called it "Talking to Myself." Today, I get paid to tend to a website that keeps thousands and thousands of people informed about our local sports teams. I get so maxed out on sports that I should change the name of my blog to "The Opening Day Blog" to better reflect the amount of my free time that I want to spend blathering about sports now. Five years ago, I was unaware of Twitter's existence, and I doubt I'm alone there. Today, that is my primary outlet for the few, fleeting thoughts I feel compelled to send out into the universe. Fortunately, I have so few followers that I can still say that I'm talking to myself, just not as often.

Update: Five years ago, the closest I got to the field was leaning (tentatively and inconspicuously... I was a former usher, after all) over the railing during batting practice. Today, I was standing on the warning track while the Red Sox took batting practice. Sometimes change is good.

Here's my sad little post from five years ago.