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Today’s game could’ve gone better for the Grantsburg Honkers; they dropped it 4-0 to the Haugen Knights in a bit of a pitcher’s duel, but that’s not what I want to write about today. It was also the first Honkers game that I’ve been able to broadcast on the radio.

I played one season with the Honkers about three years ago and it was a blast. I am not very good at baseball, but that didn’t stop them from throwing me out there at third base. I had plenty of errors and some good plays. I struck out a bunch, but a couple solid hits. I remember some plays, but most have been lost in the cloud of the history of my life.

The things I do remember…

…the feeling I got putting on the uniform before the game. The ritual for me goes back to when I first started playing ball in third grade. My dad taught me how to turn the pants inside out and how to put them on so that my socks wouldn’t fall down. The uniform made me feel like a big-leaguer, even just for a moment. And yes, even as a twenty-something, I felt that.

…the sound of a wood bat crisply cutting the ball in half. That distinct sound can transport you to a different place, maybe it is a preview of heaven. You are sharing a treat with those legends from the past and the boys of summer of today.

… the personalities of the guys. The jokes and goofing around (generally not repeatable for a G-rated blog) will bring a smile to my face for years.

I can understand why those guys keep going. The Honkers have been in existence for about ten years now and in the beginning, it wasn’t the winning that kept them going out there. It was the intangibles of the game. Ted Gerber, Dan Hinrichs and Ben Peterson have been there from the inception and they are still going strong.

If you haven’t experienced a Honkers game, I suggest you make your way down to Peper field some summer afternoon and watch those guys play.