Why Opening Day Should Be A Holiday

America has several holidays that make absolutely no sense. No one really cares about them, and most of us have no idea what they represent without a few minutes of research on our smart phones. Boxing Day? Good luck. Then there are holidays that pretty much only exist so we have an excuse to take work or school off: President’s Day, Labor Day, and New Year’s Day. In fact if you look at the calendar you’ll see a whole host of “holidays” that you never even knew existed. So, why not add one more day to the list? A day that we could take off from work and school and spend with our families or friends. A day to celebrate one of America’s pastimes. One of the greatest games ever devised: Opening Day.

Major League Baseball’s Opening Day should be annually celebrated as a National Holiday (or day of mourning depending on your team). This makes so much sense, that it actually hurts my brain when I try to figure out why it hasn’t happened yet.

True, America does not feel about Baseball how they used to. From the early 1900’s up until the 1980’s Baseball was thee sport people talked about. Of course since then football has taken a step forward and many feel it is America’s Pastime. Those people are wrong. Baseball is uniquely American and defined a young nation looking to set itself apart from the rest of the world. It’s played the world over – to the point where most of the world is now better at it than we are. Nowadays we definitely take the game for granted, so why not help position it back to its rightful place?

You might be thinking, “This is a stupid idea, because they would never go for it.” And, you know what? You’re probably right. However, this could actually work for two different reasons:

1) If a petition to build a Deathstar can reach such popularity the White House is forced to respond, then why couldn’t this idea make it into the hands of legislators? Obama is a die-hard White Sox fan.

2) You want this to work, because you would get an extra day off school or work. It’s in your best interest. You’ll have a whole day to watch a wonderful game, which can sometimes take all day to watch. If you don’t know anything about Baseball, you’ll have all day to learn. If someone in your family doesn’t know anything about Baseball, you’ll have all day to teach them! You can play catch with your son or daughter when the game gets boring, or just go to the park or beach and listen on the radio. Hell, you could do whatever you wanted to do. You’ll have a whole day to either spend time with your loved ones, or spend time with your team, and it’s all thanks to Baseball.

Best of all you’ll have time to actually go to Opening Day, which if you never have, you are missing out. The pageantry, the spectacle, the history, and of course the excitement. It is literally one of the most fun experiences you’ll ever have. There’s nothing like it and there will never be again. Opening Day should be a National Holiday because it represents all that is good about America. It would be a day about something, for something, to accomplish something that benefits all involved.

If you don’t believe me, you’ve never been to Opening Day and that saddens me, because it’s open to everyone, and you fall in to that category. Baseball is magical; it’s reflective and peaceful. In a world where the culture is “NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW” there is something unique about taking a breath and watching Jedd Gyorko take ball one. Have a hotdog, have a beer, take a walk around the ballpark, and watch some jumbotron bloopers. You’ll thank me.

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