Many of you, who were once devoted to the game, may wonder why I am still a fan of a sport now plagued with controversy and shrouded in bitterness a sport once dubbed America’s favorite pastime. Well, for those of you who have shaken your head and pondered this dilemma, I will attempt to provide you with an answer.

Some of my fondest and most cherished memories come from the game of baseball. However, I must be truly honest with you. Last season’s spectacle mad me angry. Yet family and friends have made me angry and I have yet to abandon them.

For me, my love of baseball remains as strong as it ever has, despite the strike. You see, there is one amazing fact that holds true, not only for baseball, but any sport:When faced with adversity surrounding professional sports today, you can always reminisce on yesterday’s heroics to put the game into perspective. You can relay on those heroic events and fit them into your scheme of how the game once was and hopefully how it will once again be.

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I feel it necessary to mention a few of those events, by no means to persuade you, but to point out why I remain loyal to baseball.

At the age of eight, I witnessed my first vivid baseball feat, a feat yet to be equaled or repeated in my mind. It was in the bottom of the twelfth during game six of the 75 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. That evening Carlton Fisk hit his dramatic home run to send the series to game seven. I will not soon forget the image of Fisk, side-stepping down the first-base line, waving his hands toward center field and away from the foul poll in left as if he was willing the Mr. Rawlings fair. His efforts paid off.

You did not have to be a Red Sox fan to appreciate the moment; hell, you did not even have to be a baseball fan to be touched by the sight. The sight of Fisk running down the first-base line in Fenway was enough.

How could I forget another dramatic ninth-inning homerun by an injured man in Dodger blue Kirk Gibson. His shot of Dennis Eckersley, set the stage for the 88 world series against the A’s. It was narrated by Vin Scully and I will no doubt hear the excitement in his voice for years to come as I recall Gibson hobbling around the diamond.

I also recall the pleasure in witnessing a young hurler named Bob Welch sending Reggie Mr. October Jackson steaming to the dugout after striking him out in the 78 World Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. Seeing the fire in which Jackson brought to the plate against my beloved Dodgers extinguished was one of shear joy and a rare feeling in the world of baseball today.

How could I ever forget watching my heroes of yesterday and today play the game I love so much. Heroes such as Bench, Brett, Garvey, Ryan, Ripken, Yount and Yaz. Some already in the Hall of Fame, others soon to be. Unfortunately, their talent and dedication is unequaled in today’s game.

As I often bask in the glory of yesterday’ images and the men who enhanced them, I cannot help but be sorrowed with a few of them as well. events such as the destruction of old Comiskey Park, the retirements of Bench, Brett, Garvey, Ryan, Ryno, Yount, Yaz and Pudge,the untimely death of Munson and sadly, the recent passing of Mickey.

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You see, these memories alone, however happy or sad they may be, are all that is left. I recall them whenever last year’s debacle reaches the on-deck circle of my mind. You can say they help justify my reasons for remaining a fan.

Baseball has faced countless foes and has yet to be retired. The precious moments I have mentioned are but a few of the reasons why I remain a fan. I find it hard to let money stand in the way of my love for the game isn’t money what it’s all about these days?

Well for those of you who disagree with my reasoning that’s fine, you are entitled to your own opinion. I’m still a fan and much to the dismay of many, I will remain a fan until one aspect of the game is lost a treasured aspect which cannot be replaced on a bargaining table; the tingling in my spine when the Star Spangled banner is played and the memories of yesterday fail to take the field.