BEIER COLUMN: Sectional day shows the beauty of baseball

I like baseball. I really do.

I think that most people truly do enjoy the sport of baseball, despite all reports that folks have moved on to other things that don't baseball.

On Tuesday, June 7, I got to enjoy one of my favorite days of the year — sectional baseball day. I went to Muscoda and watched the Division 4 sectional that included Bangor, Ithaca, Riverdale and Pecatonica.

Yes, it was all that I expected it to be. It was three entertaining baseball games that included a very special moment at the end with Bangor winning its first sectional since the 1996 season.

I dropped a couple of social media posts about baseball sectional day being a very underrated sports day in the high school calendar. However, I think I'm right in saying so.

Folks don't really show up to watch baseball on the regular, but on sectional day, people show up and stay out to watch their teams play. Sure, I'd like people to show up all season long, instead of being fair-weather fans, but schools don't make it easy with the schedules and start times they keep.

Days like Tuesday restore my faith in baseball. Knowing people are still willing to come back to the ballpark to enjoy America's Pastime is very reassuring that that sport won't go away anytime soon.

This year's sectional was more significant than what my romantic ideas of what baseball can and should be, though. I was able to witness my first Scenic Bluffs Conference baseball team punch its ticket to state, and I have no regrets about it.

You see, I had a chance to watch my high school, Royall, play in a sectional final. I skipped it because it was June and I'm sure I had other things on my mind.

I skipped watching my HS win a state baseball title as well for the same reasons. That's something that I do wish I could do all over again — the right way, though.

I know there were a number of Bangor fans in attendance on Tuesday and I know many will be there next week in Appleton. However, I expect a few to still be on the fence about going because of the drive, the time and so on.

My take? Go enjoy a day of baseball. Go watch Bangor make its return to state. Go watch other teams play ball. Let the hours melt away as the boys of summer hit and run and throw. There's nothing like it, actually.

If you meet baseball on its terms and let it operate at its own speed, it's a most beautiful thing, especially when the local hometown team is playing.