Memories of the Game

When I was about nine, I went to my first baseball game at Fenway Park. I still remember coming up out of the concourse and seeing the field for the first time—the green of the diamond took my breath away. The sound of the organ and the smell of Fenway Franks are as vivid today as they were almost fifty years ago. I believe the Sox were playing the Kansas City Royals, and Ray Culp was the pitcher, but, honestly, the feeling of being part of something almost magical is what remains today.

The Poly community had a challenging 72 hours right before our March break. On the day we brought our Upper and Middle school students back to our classrooms for the first time, we received word that seven members of our community had positive tests for COVID. To ensure the community’s safety, we closed at the direction of the Pasadena Public Health Department. The campus was shut for all but essential employees, and we waited for the health department to conduct their investigation of the outbreak. 

Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking consequences was that we had to cancel the football game that was to be played in the Rose Bowl the next evening. Games have been canceled or postponed before, but this one was different—it was the only one of the year. More than that, it had been one of the few glimmers of hope for many players. The camaraderie that competition and physical exertion brought was helping to heal the isolation and loneliness that so many had experienced for over a year. And then, in an instant, it appeared all for naught, and the sense of powerlessness returned.

There is a happy ending here. We learned a couple of days later that the test results were unreliable, and we were able to reopen and reschedule the game. On April 1, the football game was back on, and the dance team joined the players in the tunnel leading out onto the field. While the stands were empty and the typical smells and sounds of a game day were missing, the Rose Bowl’s majesty prevailed, and the game went on. Poly lost the game, but in the end, the result wasn’t the point. The team taught all of us that they would weather disappointment and heartbreak, and, as the score fades from their memories, together, they would experience something they will never forget. 

Be well, 

JWB