Baseball through my eyes.

Some people wonder why I am so passionate about baseball, so I'm posting this entry to give you all an inside look at why I love the sport as much as I do, why it means more than the world to me, and why I decided to dedicate my life to it in hopes of becoming a successful Sports reporter. This entry is one I wrote not too long ago for a contest.

Here it is!

To start this off, my name is Jessica, I'm a 21 year old girl whose biggest passion in life is baseball and my dream in life is to be a field reporter for the New York Yankees. To me, baseball is more than a sport, its a lifestyle. It's America's past time, but for me, it's my families past time, too! I was raised in a family where baseball talk was talk all year round. It was one of  the biggest bonding experiences of my childhood; whether it was playing, watching or conversing about it. Starting from my earliest memories, I remember carrying a baseball around with me basically everywhere I went. I played and kept up with the boys until we got to the age they didn't want me around anymore. Growing up in Chicago and being raised Yankees fans, it gave us such a sense of pride (and I believe it helped me become a the strong woman I am today, trust me, its not easy being a Yankees fan in that town!.)  This may seem like a story that you hear a lot, but mine differs in a very significant way. My dad was the main reason we were raised baseball fanatics. He was an amazing baseball player in his time and he made sure we were raised with knowledge and love for the sport. When I was 12, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. While he was going through treatments and couldn't do much, we would sit together, watch baseball and talk about everything from stats to our favorite players. In this time I spent with my dad, the game became even more important to me than I could've ever imagined. It was what could bond my entire family at even the roughest of times. The last game I got to go to with my dad before he passed away was the last time the Yankees played the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The look and emotion my dad had on his face when we walked into the stadium, and all through the game made me really realize how much this game meant to him. Right then and there I decided that I would carry his passion for the sport we all love out by being the best Sports Reporter I could be. Baseball is the one thing in my life that I can always count on. The butterflies I get every game I watch a game remind me that I am happily carrying out the Vacco Baseball Tradition.