It's a homerun, Man

I have a bucket list of things to do and experience over here, and near the top was attending a few classic American sporting events: baseball, American football, NASCAR, or IndyCar.

So far, I’ve managed to tick off a few boxes. I watched a college-level football game where my nephew was playing, attended a local baseball game to watch the Charleston Dirty Birds play at home (yes, I completely forgot who they were playing against 😊), and went to a drag racing event. The big top-tier motorsports still remain on my list.

One thing I noticed immediately is that big sports here are a full family affair. People show up with their entire extended family, pack coolers of food and drinks, and essentially have a massive picnic while a game happens to be breaking out nearby.

You see people constantly walking in and out, with a crowd always milling around the concourse as if they are there more to socialize than actually watch the field. But don't let the casual vibe fool you: just like they are die-hard West Virginians, they really root for their team.

While I’m not a huge sports guy—I watch Formula 1 and that’s about it—I really enjoyed that aspect: the sheer casualness of it all. Sure, everyone shouts when shouting is required, yelling and clapping at the big moments, but otherwise, everyone is just friendly, outgoing, and relaxed.

None of these sports are particularly big back in the Netherlands—even though the Dutch actually have an surprisingly excellent national baseball team that once managed to beat Cuba. As for drag racing, it exists over there, but it’s extremely niche. I think the closest thing we have to a popular motorsport equivalent back home is tractorpullen (tractor pulling), which is huge in the Dutch countryside.

Honestly, the drag racing event was a bit of a disappointment to me. While I love the cars, the actual spectacle feels quick and messy. Two cars—sometimes completely different builds—just blast off down the strip, and two seconds later, it’s over. It is ridiculously fast and deafeningly loud, but you often have no clue who actually won or if it was even a fair comparison. It was neat to see once in real life, but I wouldn't go out of my way to seek out the next one.

Then came American football. We’ve all seen the movies: the bone-crushing tackles, the gigantic leaps, the incredible catches, non-stop action, and pretty girls dancing seductively during every break.

Then you watch the real thing as a non-American, and it just feels like total chaos.

Players constantly walk on and off the field. Gameplay stops a lot—and I mean a lot. If you blink, suddenly everyone is sprinting in one direction, and before you even realize what happened, the whistle blows, half the team runs off the field, and a whole new group runs on. I spent half the time just trying to figure out where the ball actually was.

Thankfully, I was sitting next to someone who knew a thing or two about the game and was kind enough to explain the rules. Still, I have to admit that watching the condensed version on TV or a dramatized version in a movie makes a whole lot more sense. It was a fun evening, but a long one.

Baseball was next. While there is certainly less field chaos than football, the action is also dialed way back. It is a very static sport... right up until the bat actually connects with the ball, at which point brief chaos ensues.

There are so many iconic movies featuring baseball, and I love baseball movies—I must have seen a dozen of them. They always depict it as a high-tension, action-packed drama, and while it certainly has its moments, it moves at a pretty slow pace during most of the game time. Judging whether a pitch was wide or a strike from the bleachers is nearly impossible. To top it off, we had a bit of rainy weather, so the crowd thinned out quickly.

Still, I enjoy watching it. And since some of the grandkids play baseball, we regularly go to see their games. Now, watching kids play baseball—that’s a whole different story!

It is hilariously funny at that age. Of course, the rules are simplified and they get pitched easier balls (not to downplay it; I would most likely still miss completely), but they are kids. Some are hyper-focused; others are standing in the outfield watching a butterfly flutter past. Some will hit the ball, stand there watching it fly away in pure awe, and completely forget to run while parents from both teams scream, "RUN! RUN!"
Others catch the ball, spin around 480 degrees trying to figure out where they're supposed to throw it, while everyone in the bleachers shouts, "THROW THE BALL!"

At that level, everyone roots for every single player, and it really reflects the enthusiasm people here have for the game. I suppose that would be the Dutch equivalent of youth soccer—a sport that, even though my dad was a player, coach, referee, and board member for the local team, I actually disliked quite a bit.

So now, I just have to measure our property to see if our land is big enough to build our own Field of Dreams, and then wonder who might walk out of the trees.

Batter up!