I know I've openly criticized Johnny Mac many times....some people view that as a form of undefined "hate". Completely not the case, and completely not the time to talk about it. But I just wanted to clear that up before I went on.
What transpired at today's game is still hitting me, no pun intended.
Johnny Mac was put in as a defensive replacement, and the very few people still in attendance were cheering their hearts out. Many also gave a standing ovation.
Speaking from personal experience of having a devastating loss of a parent (my Mom to cancer as well), it's hard to get back into stuff that's even a daily routine as much as you want to make everything "go back to normal." It hasn't even been a week for Johnny Mac.
I personally didn't realize until it was the bottom of the ninth that Johnny Mac was due up to bat. Just his name being introduced had all these emotions build up inside of me, which I know was a zillionth smaller than the emotions for J-Mac. He smoked the ball, and it barely made its way over the LF wall. I started to scream as loud as I could, possibly louder than I have for some walk-offs to hide that I was ready to sob.
There's no doubt in my mind that Jack McDonald was somewhere in the Dome today cheering louder than anybody else as John was trotting around the bases.
And despite the game's loss today, I'm pretty sure that it put things into perspective for many Jays fans that it's not always about ensuring a W, and that even Baseball players are human.
For a better read than my emotional mumbo-jumbo - Check out Bastian's blog post:
http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/06/happy_fathers_day.html
What transpired at today's game is still hitting me, no pun intended.
Johnny Mac was put in as a defensive replacement, and the very few people still in attendance were cheering their hearts out. Many also gave a standing ovation.
Speaking from personal experience of having a devastating loss of a parent (my Mom to cancer as well), it's hard to get back into stuff that's even a daily routine as much as you want to make everything "go back to normal." It hasn't even been a week for Johnny Mac.
I personally didn't realize until it was the bottom of the ninth that Johnny Mac was due up to bat. Just his name being introduced had all these emotions build up inside of me, which I know was a zillionth smaller than the emotions for J-Mac. He smoked the ball, and it barely made its way over the LF wall. I started to scream as loud as I could, possibly louder than I have for some walk-offs to hide that I was ready to sob.
There's no doubt in my mind that Jack McDonald was somewhere in the Dome today cheering louder than anybody else as John was trotting around the bases.
And despite the game's loss today, I'm pretty sure that it put things into perspective for many Jays fans that it's not always about ensuring a W, and that even Baseball players are human.
For a better read than my emotional mumbo-jumbo - Check out Bastian's blog post:
http://mlbastian.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/06/happy_fathers_day.html
The funeral was Friday, and J-Mac went through with that Fathers Day BBQ contest thingy before the game today. ♥ I think that was courageous and classy.
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