That year after it all goes down is all about the firsts. There’s the first holiday, the first March Madness, the first birthday, and now the first Opening Day without dad. And I don’t want to bring down the mood of the fan base. I’m not going to spend the entire season talking about this, but I am confident I will never have an Opening Day quite like this one, where the emotions are this raw and this strong. And as I said in the video, I see nothing wrong with that.
Maybe it’s abnormal, but I love talking about it. I’ve had the fortune of building a really incredible platform that gives me the chance to share things that many people probably wouldn’t be comfortable sharing on the Internet. And don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of downsides that come with that. But I don’t view an expression of grief as a downside. I view it as a privilege.
I remember when the Tigers were in the heart of their awful rebuild. We came into the season knowing they probably wouldn’t win more than 65 games. I remember telling myself that I allowed myself one day a year to believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Detroit Tigers are going to win the World Series. After Opening Day, I would snap back to reality and return to indulging in the misery this team tended to bring us. Now things are different.
I’m not just going to be spending today thinking the Tigers can win the World Series. There are expectations now, and those expectations make me nervous. I don’t know if things are going to go up, down, or side to side. That’s a beautiful thing about this game. It is wildly unpredictable. It’s hubris to assume that you know what’s going to happen in this game. The only thing that you can commit to is being along for the ride, and I know we’re gonna be there for it every step of the way.