Can You Love Someone Who Doesn’t Love Baseball?

I’m so excited, Modern Philosophers, that tomorrow is Opening Day of the baseball season.

I’ve missed my beloved Yankees and I’m thrilled that tomorrow’s game is televised on ESPN.

Go Yankees!

The return of baseball also means that it’s April and my 182 Days of Terror, aka Maine Winter, have finally ended.  The crack of the bat tells me that warmer weather, sunnier days, and a snow-free existence have returned.

Of course, the arrival of Spring also means that love is in the air, so you’ll need my Dating Tips now more than ever.

So what happens when you love baseball but your someone special does not?  This happened to me when I fell in love with The Sweet Irish Girl.  Since she was from Ireland, she knew nothing about baseball and I was faced with quite the conundrum:

Could I love someone who didn’t love baseball?

This post will help you decide how to answer that question, and provide some tips that might help your significant other better enjoy the greatest sport in the world.

Teach her how to play.  If you want her to love the game, help her to understand it and know how to play.

I used to talk about baseball to The Sweet Irish Girl often during our lengthy cross-Atlantic phone calls.  Sometimes, I’d take a video of the game I was watching and send it to her to watch, explaining what was going on as she viewed it, and then answering her questions.

She would impress me by reading up on the rules online and then asking me questions about it the next time we talked.  She knew how important baseball was to me, and she was trying to learn the game.

She would also send me photos of her wearing the Yankees tee shirt I’d bought her, and that made me know for sure she wanted baseball to be a part of her life.  So on her next visit, I borrowed a glove from a coworker, brought her to the local Little League field, and taught her how to catch and throw.  She had a very good arm and wasn’t that scared of the ball when I threw it to her.

After that, it was off to the batting cages, where she really impressed me.  Not only did she look adorable in a helmet, but she also made solid contact with the balls hurled at her by the pitching machine.

If we had stayed together, she probably could’ve gone pro.

Take her to a game.  Nothing will make a person fall for America’s pastime quicker than taking her to the stadium to experience a game live.

I’m not talking about a Little League game or even the Minors.  It’s got to be the Big League.  The stadiums are like museums of the game, the players are the best in the world, and even if she gets a little bored, there’s plenty of yummy food.

The plan was always to take The Sweet Irish Girl to Yankee Stadium.  One cannot enter that shrine to baseball and not fall in love with the game.

Develop a love for her favorite sport.  If your sweetie doesn’t love baseball, there must be another sport that appeals to her (if there isn’t, that’s a huge red flag and an entirely different blog post!).

Learn to love her game.  Show her that you are willing to learn about the sport that turns her into a fanatic, and the guilt of that alone should make her at least give baseball another shot.

In my case, I had to learn to love rugby, which actually wasn’t bad at all.  It’s a fun, violent sport that reminds me a lot of football.  Thankfully, soccer wasn’t her favorite because I really hate that snooze fest and there’s no way I could ever love “the other football”.

And best of all, by liking her favorite sport, you now have one more thing in common.

Enjoy the alone time.  Remember that saying about always finding the silver lining?  Well maybe there’s one to be found in her not loving baseball.

If she doesn’t want to watch the game with you, then just enjoy your alone time.  Every couple needs some.  It doesn’t mean your relationship is in trouble.  On the contrary, if you spend time apart, it will only make you appreciate your time together even more.

So don’t see it as her not wanting to watch the game with you.  Think of it as her way of giving you uninterrupted time to enjoy the sport you love.

She sounds like a real keeper!

Nobody’s perfect.  So you think you love her and want to spend the rest of your life with her, but this baseball issue is causing you a little doubt?

Consider this then: Nobody’s perfect.  If she has to have a flaw, wouldn’t you prefer it to be a lack of enthusiasm for baseball over something more troubling like her need to always drag you to family functions where no one really talks to you, and you feel like a total outsider who stole away their princess ?  Or maybe her being such a horrible cook that every meal is a potential trip to the emergency room to have your stomach pumped?

Think of how rare it is to pitch a perfect game.  Now realize that finding a soul mate who is absolutely perfect is exponentially more rare to the point that it’s statistically impossible.

As amazing as you are, you’re nowhere close to perfect, so cut her some slack.  If she loves you and puts up with the fact that you can recall baseball stats from ten years ago, but can’t remember to take out the garbage, you can let her slide on this.

For better or for worse.  As a diehard baseball fan, you have to be a stickler for the rule book, so with that in mind, consider the rules of marriage.

You stand there before a sell out crowd and vow to love your little baseball hater for better or for worse.

What did you think the priest was talking about when he pitched you that one?

He’s asking if you’re willing to put up with her worst quality…the fact that for some reason you have never been able to understand, the person you love does not love baseball.

Everyone heard you say “I do” to that one, slugger, and we’ve got it on video, too, so challenge the call all you want, but it’s not getting overruled.

If you step up to the plate and promise to love her no matter what, you have to accept the fact that she’ll never love baseball.

At least she doesn’t like the Red Sox.  Okay, her not loving baseball is a definite drag, but there is a big positive in all this, which you can’t overlook because you are in a pressure situation akin to the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the World Series.

You love her, right?  She makes your heart dance crazier than a Phil Niekro knuckleball?  Being with her is like batting clean up for your favorite team?

The consider this: If she doesn’t love baseball, that means you know for sure that she isn’t a fan of the @#$%^& Red Sox!

That should be all you need.  Sign her to a long term contract and play ball!

I hope these Dating Tips were helpful.  Enjoy Opening Day!

Before you step up to the plate for your first at bat of the season, don’t forget to follow me on my blog and on Pinterest!