Seams of Love

Love. It’s a word that’s thrown around in our culture in many different contexts. I love my wife, her amazing cooking, and how she complements me so well. I love Lake Michigan sunsets and how the bright oranges slowly turn to reds, purples, and blues as the sun dips into the water. I love my family, buffalo chicken pizza, the TV show LOST, a great micro-brew, hating the Cubs, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and all types of Doritos. And every spring time, the crack of a wood bat hitting a ball, the pop of a catcher’s mitt framing a strike, the voice of Mike Shannon on the radio, and the heavenly cologne of hot dogs, peanut shells, and cigarette smoke, mixed with a pinch of BO all remind me of how much I…love…baseball.

Our society’s different contextual meanings of love can be seen throughout the game of baseball. There’s the brotherly love of teammates seen through the camaraderie of players and their synchronized dugout chatter. There’s the awe-struck admiration love of the unparalleled beauty of a ball diamond, its white chalk lines, and the perfect green grass. There’s the affectionate love that a fan has for his or her favorite team or player (I still need to sit my wife down to discuss the dream she had the other night about Adam Wainwright). There’s sacrificial love of a player willing to lay down his at-bat through a sacrifice bunt or suicide squeeze for the good of the team. And perhaps the best example of unconditional love is the blind devotion of a Chicago Cubs fan.

There is no such thing as a fair-weather Cubs fan. Because by definition, fair-weather fans are ones that root for their team when things are going well but lose their passion and zeal when the going gets tough. My theory is, of course, based on the scientific proof that the Cubs have never had things going well in the last 100+ years. So by nature, the marriage between Cubs fans and to what is loosely defined as a Major League ballclub is not “for better or for worse,” but rather, “for worse.” For this, I believe their unconditional love needs to be commended, and one which we can all learn from.

As hinted to in the picture above, I happily announce a new product line titled, “Seams of Love.” The artwork is hand-crafted from used baseball seams, mounted on white matboard, hand-signed and numbered. Different framing options will be on the website soon, so please check back in the next week or so. It’s a perfect gift idea for nearly any occasion, including Mother’s Day right around the corner.

I dedicate “Seams of Love” to Chicago Cub fans across the world that have an undying love for the game of baseball, who always choose love even in the most dire of circumstances.

~Nathan