It was time to hang up my hat
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Up until this past Saturday, I had owned four Chicago White Sox hats since 2004, and I'd never been to an actual real-life, professional musical.
Both of those statements changed on that day.
The musical was "Young Frankenstein," and here are a few facts about me watching a musical in person for the first time …
1. I'm a good boyfriend for putting myself in that situation.
2. I was out of my element.
3. The actors were very talented.
4. I had the urge to say everything in song form for the remainder of the day.
5. I like sports better on a Saturday afternoon.
6. I got a few "oh man's" from my buddies when they found out I was watching people in costumes tap dance instead of watching college football.
7. Musicals take forever … but have an intermission, which is kind of like halftime.
8. I actually liked it.
9. It had hidden "crude" humor in it which kept me entertained.
10. Getting the aisle seat was a mixed blessing.
Now for the other part of the statement that changed on Saturday … get your tissues ready.
As for the hats that I had already owned, one was a fitted game-day hat, one an '80s retro Cooperstown Collection cap, another Cooperstown Collection cap from the '40s era and a batting practice cap that came out in '04.
The first three hats mentioned were OK but not worn very often, but the same year Ozzie Guillen become the 38th manager of my White Sox, I got the batting practice cap, which I wore many, many, many times since then.
I've worn other team hats since then, depending on the season, but this hat, for some reason or another, became my favorite of all.
Well, two games before the end of the '11 regular season, Guillen, the manager who led the White Sox to their first World Series title since 1917, he departed the Sox for another team. It was a great eight-year run that included a World Series title, a few winning seasons and a couple of division titles.
With Guillen gone, and my batting practice cap seeing much better days … gulp … I knew it was time, time for the hat to be replaced.
I know, it's just a hat, and I know I'm a sad soul for caring so much about a piece of clothing.
Listen to me though, this was a tough decision for me … I have traveled the country in this cap, wearing it to Chicago, Boston, Seattle and other states and locations.
In those times, the hat was pristine (until the past couple years) … its silver bill was lively … the SOX logo stitched in the middle, on the front of the hat, was a bright white so that it proudly stood out. The main part of the hat that fit perfectly on my head was a distinctive black, not a faded blackish-brown color it has transformed to thanks to many hot summer days.
Better yet, let me describe in detail what this hat looks like nowadays … it is unable to stand tall and with pride like it used to (kind of like the current situation the Sox are in now). The once bright silver bill is more of a fading gray with dark worn spots. The inner lining no longer stays together on its own.
And the smell … it used to have a new-hat smell, or at least when washed, a clean smell would stick with it. Not so much anymore … the hat which lasted through two different presidents, including one who is a White Sox fan, has a permanent smell that will not go away. All the Tide and Oxyclean in the world can't and won't help this foul-smelling hat.
Is it weird I love a piece of clothing? I'm pathetic.
But I love this hat … as I have written before, we all probably have that piece of clothing that we just don't want to part with. Mine just happens to be a Sox hat that at least was worn when they won a World Series (they went 88 years in between winning championships). During that season, the Sox stayed in first place, and I didn't wash the hat until the following season, when all the good fortune ran out.
No, I'm not superstitious at all …
And the memories … oh, the memories I've had with this hat. There is the first time I saw the White Sox play live (in Cleveland) when Frank Thomas (my favorite player growing up) hit a double. I was wearing the hat during the same game when he blasted a foul ball that hit a fan.
There were the times in '06 and '09 when it was worn at Great American Ball Park and the Sox defeated the Reds. In one of the '06 games, former Sox pitcher Jon Garland hit a home run. In '09, it was worn when the Sox had a comeback win against the Reds while the Sox were wearing retro blue uniforms.
In '09, the cap finally made it "home," so to speak, when I visited new Comiskey Park, but the Sox lost to the Angels that summer day.
I've worn this hat during most of my college years, my entire newspaper career and pretty much everywhere. The hat became a part of my everyday clothing ensemble.
I can't tell you how many times it has covered up my head when I didn't have a comb, or how many times it exposed those messy hair days when removed for the national anthem.
Rumor has it, it was even worn backwards on a few occasions, possibly sideways once or twice.
And the luck this cap brought … I can't tell you how many games, when worn properly, it helped the Sox pull out when it looked like there was no hope.
It may have suffered some abuse when they were unable to win games against the Cubbies, but it sailed in the air in joy when Jermaine Dye knocked in Willie Harris from second base in the 8th inning (making the score 1-0) of Game 4 during the '05 Series, when the "Good Guys" went wire-to-wire, never leaving first place the entire championship season.
How depressing am I?
But with another childhood favorite, Robin Ventura (he's the guy who charged the mound against Nolan Ryan and got put in a headlock and punched a few times), taking over as the 39th skipper of the Sox, I finally knew it was time for a change of my cap as well.
So this past Saturday, I went to a hat store, found a hat (black with a black bill, a few spots of gray, with a diamond logo and a white sock in the middle) that was on the $5 rack. It is now my hat of choice for the 2012 baseball season that will begin this coming April.
My practice cap had many good days, but just like old players, its time was up, and sadly, the old hat has no more "tips of the cap" left in it.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
Both of those statements changed on that day.
The musical was "Young Frankenstein," and here are a few facts about me watching a musical in person for the first time …
1. I'm a good boyfriend for putting myself in that situation.
2. I was out of my element.
3. The actors were very talented.
4. I had the urge to say everything in song form for the remainder of the day.
5. I like sports better on a Saturday afternoon.
6. I got a few "oh man's" from my buddies when they found out I was watching people in costumes tap dance instead of watching college football.
7. Musicals take forever … but have an intermission, which is kind of like halftime.
8. I actually liked it.
9. It had hidden "crude" humor in it which kept me entertained.
10. Getting the aisle seat was a mixed blessing.
Now for the other part of the statement that changed on Saturday … get your tissues ready.
As for the hats that I had already owned, one was a fitted game-day hat, one an '80s retro Cooperstown Collection cap, another Cooperstown Collection cap from the '40s era and a batting practice cap that came out in '04.
The first three hats mentioned were OK but not worn very often, but the same year Ozzie Guillen become the 38th manager of my White Sox, I got the batting practice cap, which I wore many, many, many times since then.
I've worn other team hats since then, depending on the season, but this hat, for some reason or another, became my favorite of all.
Well, two games before the end of the '11 regular season, Guillen, the manager who led the White Sox to their first World Series title since 1917, he departed the Sox for another team. It was a great eight-year run that included a World Series title, a few winning seasons and a couple of division titles.
With Guillen gone, and my batting practice cap seeing much better days … gulp … I knew it was time, time for the hat to be replaced.
I know, it's just a hat, and I know I'm a sad soul for caring so much about a piece of clothing.
Listen to me though, this was a tough decision for me … I have traveled the country in this cap, wearing it to Chicago, Boston, Seattle and other states and locations.
In those times, the hat was pristine (until the past couple years) … its silver bill was lively … the SOX logo stitched in the middle, on the front of the hat, was a bright white so that it proudly stood out. The main part of the hat that fit perfectly on my head was a distinctive black, not a faded blackish-brown color it has transformed to thanks to many hot summer days.
Better yet, let me describe in detail what this hat looks like nowadays … it is unable to stand tall and with pride like it used to (kind of like the current situation the Sox are in now). The once bright silver bill is more of a fading gray with dark worn spots. The inner lining no longer stays together on its own.
And the smell … it used to have a new-hat smell, or at least when washed, a clean smell would stick with it. Not so much anymore … the hat which lasted through two different presidents, including one who is a White Sox fan, has a permanent smell that will not go away. All the Tide and Oxyclean in the world can't and won't help this foul-smelling hat.
Is it weird I love a piece of clothing? I'm pathetic.
But I love this hat … as I have written before, we all probably have that piece of clothing that we just don't want to part with. Mine just happens to be a Sox hat that at least was worn when they won a World Series (they went 88 years in between winning championships). During that season, the Sox stayed in first place, and I didn't wash the hat until the following season, when all the good fortune ran out.
No, I'm not superstitious at all …
And the memories … oh, the memories I've had with this hat. There is the first time I saw the White Sox play live (in Cleveland) when Frank Thomas (my favorite player growing up) hit a double. I was wearing the hat during the same game when he blasted a foul ball that hit a fan.
There were the times in '06 and '09 when it was worn at Great American Ball Park and the Sox defeated the Reds. In one of the '06 games, former Sox pitcher Jon Garland hit a home run. In '09, it was worn when the Sox had a comeback win against the Reds while the Sox were wearing retro blue uniforms.
In '09, the cap finally made it "home," so to speak, when I visited new Comiskey Park, but the Sox lost to the Angels that summer day.
I've worn this hat during most of my college years, my entire newspaper career and pretty much everywhere. The hat became a part of my everyday clothing ensemble.
I can't tell you how many times it has covered up my head when I didn't have a comb, or how many times it exposed those messy hair days when removed for the national anthem.
Rumor has it, it was even worn backwards on a few occasions, possibly sideways once or twice.
And the luck this cap brought … I can't tell you how many games, when worn properly, it helped the Sox pull out when it looked like there was no hope.
It may have suffered some abuse when they were unable to win games against the Cubbies, but it sailed in the air in joy when Jermaine Dye knocked in Willie Harris from second base in the 8th inning (making the score 1-0) of Game 4 during the '05 Series, when the "Good Guys" went wire-to-wire, never leaving first place the entire championship season.
How depressing am I?
But with another childhood favorite, Robin Ventura (he's the guy who charged the mound against Nolan Ryan and got put in a headlock and punched a few times), taking over as the 39th skipper of the Sox, I finally knew it was time for a change of my cap as well.
So this past Saturday, I went to a hat store, found a hat (black with a black bill, a few spots of gray, with a diamond logo and a white sock in the middle) that was on the $5 rack. It is now my hat of choice for the 2012 baseball season that will begin this coming April.
My practice cap had many good days, but just like old players, its time was up, and sadly, the old hat has no more "tips of the cap" left in it.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]