Throwing Like A Girl, The Disease of Ignorance, and The Local Sports Page

While I’m still six days away from the journey to Grapefruit League spring training on what I’m affectionately calling the Church of The Sacred Bleeding Heart of Major League Baseball Revival Tour, the first official trip to the ballpark will be today to see one of my favorite all-time athletes begin her final season.

At approximately 3 p.m. this afternoon, Patsy Suzanne Jones will be taking right field for the Ohio University-Chillicothe Hilltoppers at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio against University of Cincinnati-Clermont.  My last writing session at my previous blog location that centered on the subject of my sister’s collegiate athletic career was supposed to be a farewell send off as she had then stated that 2010 would be her final season in order to focus on her academics and preparations to graduate from OU-C with a degree in Deaf Studies. However, it would appear we’d both spoken to soon and with a year of eligibility left, she did her best Roger Clemens impersonation with regards to “retiring” and chose instead to come back for one more season.

Unlike her three previous seasons however, Suzie has faced obstacles off the field that almost made the decision to leave the game she has played since a child for her. The recent off-season saw her being plagued with nagging illnesses. Her normal off-season training sessions were often cut short due to her inability to perform tasks such as running without experiencing dangerously elevated heart rates, previously unseen levels of fatigue, and a decline in her general overall health. A series of hospital visits and medical screenings over a period of months were needed to diagnose her condition, which was finally discovered to be Graves Disease.

Graves Disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism, occurring when a person’s autoimmune system attacks the thyroid gland. While it is rarely life-threatening, it can greatly affect the body in various aspects from a persons mood to physical appearance due to the overproduction of the hormone thyroxine.

While it may seem odd to some that the first official entry here at Diary Of A Mad Fan to discuss the medical condition of a family member it’s actually somewhat fitting in respect to the whole of Suzie’s life on the playing fields and speaks volumes with regard to women’s athletics. That is to say, quite like an unforseen medical condition womens collegiate athletics often go unnoticed until attention is brought to them by an outside element.

Despite the fact that the home field of the OU-C Hilltoppers is also the home to the Frontier League Chillicothe Paints, there will not be nearly the fanfare for the team one would see if they were perhaps men. These young ladies will not take the field to a packed house on their Opening Day despite fielding a team that has finished as high as third place and as runner-up in the ORCC Tournament in two of their last three seasons.

Whatever today’s outcome on the playing field in Chillicothe, there will be very few newspaper write-ups featuring box scores or  sports webpage columns. Local “media” will  provide far more insight into area high school sports than the game between OU-C and UC-C or any other local collegiate athletic stories or game results, men or women for that matter. In great respects, this is a bit disheartening as many folks are simply unaware to the true gems which are in the surrounding area of the hills of southeastern Ohio.

From the University or Rio Grande Mens Soccer team, which entered post season play last fall with an undefeated record to the various other non-major college programs and sports such as Ohio-University of Chillicothe, area colleges are fielding winning teams on a regular basis which go largely unnoticed by the football culture that is the southeastern Ohio region. While gender, the type of sport, and league and conference affiliations surely play a large role in the decisions for the area sports fan to follow local collegiate athletics, the lack of local media coverage and the way such teams are promoted to the general public must be noted.

The community and culture surrounding these small universities and colleges is one that seemingly embraces the idea that there is nothing beyond the numerous  high school playing fields and courts within the corporation limits of the small towns that the region is composed of.  For the area high school athlete that dreams of playing beyond the high school level and aspires to earn a college degree, there appears to be no means to or future for them beyond the confines of the local public school athletic teams.

It is my opinion, that more coverage of local athletic collegiate athletics could serve as a means to a greater awareness to the opportunities for local student athletes beyond the four years of high school sports. Ohio University-Chillicothe athletic teams are a great example of this as the young women who will take the field today are not scholarship athletes that were heavily recruited , but rather are walk-on athletes who truly play for the love of sport and the chance to continue doing something they enjoy beyond the years of their secondary school educations.

The attitude and culture of this area is often one that little opportunity exists here. That in order to reach a certain plateau or see a great deal more or have things in life one must leave the area upon graduating high school. However, it is my opinion that this is merely a result of ignorance to the real opportunities that are present. An ignorance that is due in part to the failure of those who are aware to promote and share with the members of the surrounding community. It’s very difficult for the young area athlete or fan to answer the door when opportunity knocks if they are unaware that it’s standing on the other side of the door.

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As for other rants and ramblings, my pilgrimage to Tampa, Dunedin, Lakeland, Ft. Myers, and Clearwater will coincide with the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament and Tampa will be a site for second and third round games. Obviously the primary subject of this blog is baseball and the project I’m working on of the same name as its title, I will occasionally be throwing in my takes on other sports, social commentary, my life and experiences.

While I don’t follow basketball, or anything else for that matter, to the level that I do baseball, I am what you would say a small time gambler and the madness of March is a perfect time for folks like me. So I’m very excited to have the chance for the first time to be submerged a bit directly in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. At last check however, tickets to the games that weekend are in the range of $230 dollars and I’ve already filled the offering plate at the Church of the Sacred Bleeding Heart of Major League Baseball with enough money to build that new extension the congregation has been praying for.

And I suppose my next entry should be to explain what in the hell all this religion and baseball talk is as I’m sure the casual reader is probably thinking I’m off my rocker. But until then, just know baseball is my religion, the park is my church, and I am a manic street preacher when it comes to the game, hoping to convert and save the souls of the masses who have turned away from the game.  And with that, I need to get ready to attend this afternoon’s service between OU-Chillicothe and UC-Clermont. Let us now pray for many a run and very little a rain drop.

 Until next time…