Those Who Pray at the Church of Baseball Find Salvation at Tropicana Field
By Lindsay J Brown
Pinellas County, FL
“I believe in the church of baseball!”
And thus begins Bull Durham, my favorite baseball movie. Annie Savoy was talking about the Durham Bulls long before they became the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate, but some things are just meant to be.
For as long as I remember, baseball has been my sanctuary. My shelter from the storm. I grew up a Cardinals fan (shoutout to their former Spring Training home and other venue we adore, Al Lang) and moved here for work just out of college.
Being in a new place can be lonely. But the Rays and the Trop helped change that. I’ve met so many people who’ve become so important in my life at the Trop. I’ve made so many memories, from the hilarious (getting caught on TV looking like I’m about to brawl with my best friends; chasing a very drunk young man out of the ladies’ room; witnessing Yadier Molina PITCH), to the heartwarming (my mom and a fan host making SURE I won the Ballpark Princess drawing; my very first big crowd outing after COVID). All these years later, I still remember St. Pete FINALLY feeling like home as I celebrated with friends and strangers as the late, legendary Dave Wills screamed, “Aki has it, takes it to second himself! This improbable season has another chapter to it! The Rays are going to the World Series!” In October 2011, I woke up an entire household in Indiana when that Longo home run snuck over the wall in Game 162. My family still gives me grief about it.
You can say what you will about the Trop (and people do), but I believe from the bottom of my heart: If you TRULY love the GAME, you’ll watch it anywhere. You’ll still have that moment that takes your breath away when you walk up the stairs or through the tunnel and glimpse the field for the first time.
Baseball is a beautiful, powerful, healing game. The women going to bat as the men went to war. Mike Piazza’s home run tracking into the night at Shea Stadium just miles from where smoke still billowed at Ground Zero. Yes, even Big Papi shrieking “This is our f**king city” in the face of terror, before leading his squad to another championship. We all watched the roof peel off our sanctuary as we faced the thing I’ve feared the most since I’ve moved here. But like in all of these other circumstances, I have to believe the Rays, our city, a stadium, our friendships, our fandom—they will all come back stronger. We’ll make new memories and friends. The ownership and elected officials will stop behaving like Nuke Laloosh in a bar fight. And we’ll finally get that parade we’ve all been longing for. And it will be glorious.
“I’ve tried ‘em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.”
About Lindsay J Brown
Lindsay Brown is an Indiana native turned forever Floridian. She lives in Pinellas County and hates crossing the bridge the OTHER way. She loves Tampa Bay sports too much for her own good. After years of working in TV news in the Bay Area, she now has a regular 9-5 job that allows her to actually go to games and explore all the amazing things St. Pete and the surrounding areas have to offer. If you like ridiculous sports rants and pictures of French bulldogs, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @Lindsay_Joy_B. GO RAYS!