Homer Pick

Blah blah blahckground (That read as background by the way): I've been a die hard Pittsburgh Pirate fan for close to 18 years now. I say 18 years because I don't believe kids develop the concept of 'die hard' (or passion, or love... responsibilty, cleanliness,etc) until they are at least seven years old. 18 years ago started was the first of 18 straight losing seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'm from Pittsburgh + I like baseball= Of course I'm a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, sweet thang.

Present (no word play, couldn't think of anything): A good team reached .500. Good teams reach .500 records all the time. Any team with decent starting rotation complimented by a strong bullpen that has an MVP level player with good protection throughout the lineup should have a .500 record. That's what the Pittsburgh Pirates developed into. That is what the Pittsburgh Pirates are now. Am I happy? Yeah pretty much. Not surprised. Any one who's been paying attention to this team shouldn't be surprised. I'd say I'm happier about not being suprised than a .500 record in June.

Crystal 'Play' Ball (because crystal balls represent the future. You should really be able to figure these out): Who knows who knows who knows? That's a complete cop-out of an answer. But like I said I'm a Pittsburgh Pirate fan-- you pay attention to the team daily, you don't look ahead too much. We never had to look ahead before because there was nothing to look ahead to. Pay attention to everyday. It was enjoyable doing so for the last 18 years. It's a lot more enjoyable now. What I am saying is enjoy enjoying it more. Pressure will come eventually, but the great part about that is we won't recognize what that feels like for awhile. Why? Because it's baseball, and we're Pittsburgh Pirate fans.

Because it's baseball. And I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.