MY OH MY!

Here's a story to cap off a great weekend in sports; David Niehaus, the play by play announcer for the Seattle Mariners who held the position since the Mariners inaugural season in 1977, passed away during the 2010 baseball season. A legend in Seattle and throughout the baseball community, Niehaus was awarded by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the highest honor that a baseball broadcaster can receive in 2008, while some of his calls are among the most memorable in baseball history. After his death in 2010 Seattle based hip hop artist Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis made a song to tribute the life of Dave Niehaus. The song was so touching and so inspirational that the Mariners organization decided to have Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform their song before the Mariners opening day game just this past Friday, which can be seen here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=13598275

While this story may seem to hit home solely for Seattle Mariners fans, it is clear that the performance taps into the hearts and minds of a much broader audience. In fact, the tribute embodied the passion and love that baseball, and all sports for that matter, can instill into someone. From play by play announcers to superstar athletes and everything in between, sports is a huge part of many people's lives. And it's not just hooting and hollering at your tv during a game or wearing your team's jersey around town, it's about the ardor and emotion that it can transpire in us. The raw emotion of losing someone that is apart of your organization or simply from your team losing a game shows the essence of sports. We grow up idolizing the people we hear and see on tv, and they become legends to us. They are the heroes we imitate on the playground, the voices that run through our head before we go to bed, the coaches we cry over when they retire, they are our Zeus and Poseidon, gods so big and strong that in our mind no one can conquer them. That ladies and gentlemen, is what we live for.

R.I.P. David Niehaus (February 19, 1935 – November 10, 2010)

Always go hard in the paint.