Listen to the Radio
So, all kidding about being away earlier aside, going home this weekend was great. I got to pick Edenic apples in the rain and bake a pie with them. I got to see Little Jed Lowrie hit a grand slam from the left-hand side of the plate. I got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends. And I got to listen to a lot of sports talk radio in the car with my father. I find the whole phenomenon of sports talk radio kind of mysterious and fascinating. What the folks calling in clearly want more than anything else is affirmation: I can't even count the number of calls that ended in "...right?" I know the answer to this fascination is that I really should go watch Big Fan. It's on the list, with a billion other things. But I think in a weird way, in the midst of all the bravado and bullshit, there's something very tender about the callers. Maybe that's just a Boston thing, but I bet it's common in smaller markets as well. Like all kinds of love, caring for a team means making yourself intensely vulnerable.