Generation Cap

We've reached the most barren stretch of the sports landscape. A time when Sportscenter might as well be Baseball Tonight because, aside from the occasional WNBA highlight, baseball highlights are the only actual sports being showcased. July and August, simply put, are dreadful from my perspective as a sports fan.

I often talk about how much I hate baseball but that's not actually the case. I find the season to be impossibly long and the sport is awful on television but there are actually things about baseball that I enjoy. It allows me to further connect with my Dad through the Cardinals, who he watches religiously. It's among my favorite sports to attend in person as its slow pace and (generally) outdoor venues make it an ideal place to have a few beers in the summer. And finally, there's the hats. Major League Baseball and New Era have combined to give the public the best hats available on the market today. They are made of high quality material, they're fitted (Old guy rant: Fuck snapbacks. They are bullshit and I refuse to purchase them.) and they are available with a wide array of colors and logos. As a long time hat connoisseur, I own many MLB fitters.

And here's the point of this post. For some reason, the generation(s) older than mine have some belief that wearing the hat of a Major League Baseball team means that you are a fan of that team. Nearly every time I wear one of my MLB hats some old guy sees me and makes a comment about whatever team whose hat I'm wearing on that particular day. Many times it's a throwaway comment and we both move on with our lives without more than an acknowledging head nod from myself. But nearly as often it's a comment that requires me to respond by telling the guy that I'm not actually a fan of the team whose hat I'm wearing. When this happens the look I receive in return is a mix of surprise and befuddlement. Even my own Dad (a few years back) has asked me why I'm wearing a Giants hat when they beat the Cardinals in the Playoffs the previous season. My answer: Because its a cool hat and I don't really care enough to hold a grudge against a business that beat out the business I choose to support.

What's the point of me telling you this? Well, post count, but also a reminder that age has a strange way of defining things to us that don't apply to others outside our generation and something as simple as a hat choice can bring that to light. Now can we just get to football season already?