This weekend at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, my allegiance was called into question. Don’t worry; I still pledge to the red, white and blue. Of course, being me, I’m talking about sports.
My younger brother Tim is a freshman catcher for the Tar Heels, and they just happened to be playing the Wolfpack this weekend in a three-game series.
Now, I have to admit, so far this season I’ve attended more North Carolina baseball games than I have attended over at Doak Field. I just don’t get as excited for N.C. State baseball as I do for, say, basketball or football. That’s just me, though.
However, there are plenty of reasons to get excited about this year’s baseball team as it boasts an impressive record and a Top 10 national ranking.
Needless to say, this series was marked on my calendar, and I was very excited about it; all the while, suppressing my ambivalent feelings toward who I wanted to be the ultimate victor. Finally, I made the decision that I was going to pull for the Pack and cheer for my brother — or something like that. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to pull this off. Anyway, let’s play ball!
To the Friday game, I tried to dress neutral wearing a navy-blue TaylorMade golf shirt and just a pair of khakis. When I say ‘khaki’ I mean the material they are made out of, because these particular shorts are Carolina blue in color. I swear I didn’t mean to do this.
Anyway, I took a seat in the Carolina section with my parents and older brother, who just happens to be a Carolina alumnus. They were all wearing Carolina blue, so at least I fit in.
I want to take this opportunity to commend the State fans for how well they traveled. Almost half of the crowd of 3,656 was wearing red, and they were rowdy.
But it was their rowdiness that led me to eventually choose sides. You see, in the second inning when my brother got up to bat for the first time, one of the hecklers on the State side noticed something in his game program.
“Hey! You have 25 strikeouts,” he shouted. “That’s the worst on the team! That’s horrible!”
Oh man! Nobody talks crap to my brother. Knock one outta here, Tim!
Four straight balls? C’mon Brackman, give him something to hit.But Tim did get a hit in the fourth off Brackman, but so did everybody else. OK, that’s enough. I think you see where this is going.
I want to apologize to the State fans for my act of treason. I guess you now see that, when in conflict, my family ties will win out. Blood is thicker than water, even though I bleed Wolfpack red.
