April 13th marked the home opener for the New York Yankees and the ring presentation for their 27th World Championship was to be held before the game. Bernie Williams threw the first pitch. The glitz of a pair of fighter jets punctuated the glamour of Kristin Chenoweth's operatic rendition of the national anthem. Then the legends of Yankee folklore Billy Martin and Yogi Berra came out to present the rings with manager Joe Girardi, he himself a Yankee championship athlete. As they handed out the rings in descending order by number, everyone was wondering how they would honor the World Series MVP, now a member of that day's opposing club.
The Yankees, as always, did not disappoint. They had saved the best for last. A normally stoic Hideki Matsui was showing signs of deep emotion as the crowd of his home for the past 7 years roared, greeting him with an overwhelming ovation. As soon as he received the ring, all of the Yankee players rushed to him and individually gave him the welcome home that he so deserved. Not going to lie, this was probably one of the most moving sports moments in baseball I've witnessed in my humble lifetime. You can watch the whole video and almost cry too.
I've always been a very nostalgic and sentimental girl. Maybe it's because many of my friends and family are so far away or maybe it's just the way I've always been. When I was 15 and a sophomore in high school, I remember feeling the slight but acute pangs of anticipatory heartache at the thought that it would only be 2 years left at my familiar high school with the people who would come closest to resembling my "childhood friends". I probably still would have felt that way even if my current self could tell the girl I was that she'd meet many new friends who might not be "childhood friends" but still could become "lifelong friends" and that despite 6 (!!) years and counting, she'd still marvel every once in a while that her relationships with these people would change very little at all.
