Opening Day is Scheduled; I Feel Sick

Flash forward a couple of months. It's 7:55 a.m., Monday, April 1.

I make a phone call.

Hello, boss. (Cough)

Oh, hello Chad. You don't sound so good.

Yeah, I can't go to work today. I've been sick all weekend. I think I need one more day to rest.

Ok, feel better soon and take care of you.

Thank (Cough. Cough.) you.

Click!

Hehehehehehehehehe.

I did it. I'm off work.

What?

No, I'm not celebrating April Fool's Day. (Who takes off work for that?)

I'm playing hooky April 1 because it's opening day of the 2013 baseball season. And the Yankees are hosting the Red Sox at the Stadium. First pitch, to be tossed, I'm guessing, by CC Sabathia, is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN.

I love opening day. It's usually a bit cold at most ballparks, which doesn't bother me since I'm sitting in my cozy man cave watching on a 52-inch TV. But the site of long sleeves throws off the baseball aesthetic a bit for me. But not in a way I can't enjoy the game.

I still remember a few years ago seeing Kelly Clarkson singing the national anthem on opening day at the Stadium. She looked very cold and uncomfortable all bundled up in a blue Yankees jacket.

I still have no idea why Kelly Clarkson, who's from Texas, was singing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium.

Back to the cold for a second. I totally dig the look of fans bundled up and freezing in October. Being a Yankee fan 34 years – yes, I've been having an affair with the Nationals since they moved to D.C. – I guess I've gotten used to that site and, with the Yankees playoff accomplishments the last 15 or so years, have associated the frozen fan look with success.

But no matter the temperature in the Bronx, or at any of the other Major League cities on opening day, I embrace the excitement. This year will be particularly nice with the Yankees playing the hated Red Sox.

Yuck, the Red Sox.

They make me sick.

Hello, boss. I may need take off Tuesday also.