Opening Day

Well folks, Monday is one of the best days of the year in my book. That's right, it's Opening Day for the 2009 Major League Baseball season. And of course, I will be there at the Metrodome, watching my beloved Twins take on the Seattle Mariners.

Who wins the World Series you ask? That's easy. Twins win it in 7. And I only say 7 because when the Twins win, they win in dramatic fashion.

That's part of the beauty of opening day though. Ask 29 other baseball fans that question, and you get 29 separate answers. Hope my friends, hope. If Barack Obama was a day, he would be baseball's opening day.

Of course, for Minnesota fans, this year has a special poignancy, since it is the last season that the Twins will play in the Metrodome. For people like myself, the Dome is the only way we've ever known Twins baseball. Which really is a shame, because the Dome is an absolutely horrific venue for baseball. So many things are wrong about it, from the plastic roof to the plastic field to the plastic garbage bag that masquerades as a right field wall. Of course, it is a big homefield advantage, but I think the inherent dignity of outdoor baseball easily trumps that advantage.

As much as we Minnesotans love to hate the Dome, we also have to admit that it has its quirky charms. For instance, being blown out of the doors after the game. Or Bob Casey's "Nooooo Smoookking" address. And if you were a kid growing up in Minnesota in the 1990's with a pulse, you of course remember the "KIIRRBBEEEEEE PUCKETT!" Going along with that, who could ever forget Kirby in Game 6, or Jack Morris in Game 7? Like it or not, the Twins and the Dome are inextricably linked.

I'll be the first one to line up for tickets to Target Field. In fact, I'm literally foaming at the mouth to get into the new ballpark. Because it is beautiful. Not convinced? Check it. Even with that little issue of no retractable roof, it is going to be an absolute cathedral to Minnesota baseball. If I have to sit through a blizzard to watch the Twins capture the 2010 World Series, so be it. My mom bought me a fantastic new Twins jacket for that express purpose.

But as much as I look forward to next spring, it's only appropriate to look back with fondness at the past. Yes Metrodome, you are a terrible stadium. But in the meantime, you've done an alright job.

Play ball.