Monday, August 23, 2010
GOING TO A BRAVE GAME!!!!!!!! .
My mom bought tickets to the September 29th game vs the Marlins!
GHG>KGJJGVJBK! I CAN'T WAIT!
She got us dugout seats. (Row 14, seats 103-104) Does anyone know what the view is like from said seats? I have never sat that close before. I feel like I could puke from excitement!
Anyone in the Atlanta Area plan on attending? I would be so cool to meet fellow fans.
I don't know what shirt I should wear! I have dozens to pick from.
Chippper?
Maddux?
Frenchy?
McCann?
Andruw Jones?
I also plan on getting a Heyward. Maybe a Conrad. ...Can you buy a Conrad at the Braves store?
SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Why I am such a big Chipper fan
I would like to explain WHY I am the way I am with him and why I took the news so hard last night. There are the logical reasons. He is a great player, he is a Brave and I admit it, he is a good looking. There is another main reason though that not many people will share with me. After a year of this blog and getting to know some of you I feel comfortable bringing this up.
I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the mild end of the autism spectrum. In a nut shell it means I have a lot of trouble socializing. I talked about my anxiety around people in a previous post The anxiety stems from this. I sometimes feel like a deaf mute trying to navigate through the world.
It is one of the main reasons for this blog, so I can communicate with others on my own terms. The social interaction I get from you people and trough conducting trades is often the only social interaction I get. It has been a lifesaver for me.
I was diagnosed when I was 17. Previously I had never even heard of the word.. My family knew that these was always something a little “off” with me though. I would trip over my own feet, loud noises would make me cover my hand over my ears, I couldn't stand tags in shirts. Most of the time school was a synonym for hell. I was picked on horribly and just couldn't seem to fit in. I had seen doctors before. One mentioned I just needed some “friends” and that I could outgrow said issues.
It didn't get better and they did not just go away. In the 11th grade I had been having thoughts of suicide. I ended up seeing a psychologist and on the very first meeting she asked my mom if she had every heard of Aspergers. It fit me to a T. Finally we had answers for why did the things I did.
There are often other issues that accompany Aspergers. One of them being a special interest. People with Aspergers often get fixated on a certain topic. It could be trains, or dinosaurs, or whatever. They find out all they can about said interest and often talk about it obsessively.
For me that is a a person, Chipper Jones. Don't get me wrong, I love the Braves and baseball. but Chipper is "special." I know I talk about him to much. I bring his name up constantly around the house. Multiple times a day in fact. If a day went by that I didn't mention his name, my mom would think there was something seriously wound with me She is sick to death of hearing about Chipper and yet I have a very hard time not bringing him up.
If there is a Chipper item I have to get it, if he is on the news I have to see him, if there is an article about him I have to clip it out. I get anxious when I can't do these things. When I was younger I would say I wanted to marry him. The thing that I talk about endlessly, will no longer be in my daily life. My dream come true would be to meet him. To shake his hand would mean the world to me.
Now that obsession is gone. It is like losing a limb almost. He has been my interest for fifteen years. I hope that he may come back next year, but he might not. I will still follow the Braves and watch the games. I am a fan and Chipper will not change that. It just will not be the same.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
There is no crying in baseball.
Except for now. I can't believe I am crying over a damn baseball player. That is a a girl for you, ehhh?
Chipper is out for the rest of the season. Likely for his career if he retires this year, which I have a feeling he will. He is going to need surgery on his knee.
Goddammit. God fucking dammit. He was doing so well lately. His hitting had really come around.
I planned on seeing him play this year, possibly his least year. We have been talking about tickets and the best time to go just yesterday. Now that will never happen.
There will never be a player like Chipper. Not ever, He was one helluva ball player and one I know will be in the hall of fame. Not only that, but he cared about his team. You hardly ever see that kind of loyalty, where players go to whoever the highest bidder is.
Chipper negotiated his contract to help the team. How many people would do that? Not many. He even moved to left field to help out. He was the definition of a team player. he was the spokesman for the Braves and a mentor for the younger players. The only Brave left from the team of the 90's. He started as a Braves and will leave as one. That is a rare commmidity these days , when players bounce around from team to team like ping pong balls.
He was my all time favorite baseball player. I loved him ever since I was ten years old when I first picked him out. I have watched him him struggle and read about his hardships, some his own fault. I have clipped articles, collected memorabilia and cheered myself hoarse. I have wathced him mature not only as a ball player, but as a man. You will be missed Chipper.