OPENING DAY REFLECTIONS ON RESILIENCE

by Barry Robbins

Ballpark sparkling after 18 months of closure.

Players & fans standing at attention as the national anthem is played.

Announcer claiming a moment of silence for those who have died over the last year, including the greats - Joe Morgan and Hank Aaron.

Bryan Stow, a Giants fan who was savagely beaten in Los Angeles in 2012, throwing out the first ball. 

Jets flying by in celebration overhead.
 
On April first, I had the great pleasure of attending the San Francisco Giants Opening Day game. While opening day is always an exciting event for fans of the game, this year it felt even more significant for so many reasons.
 
The overwhelming theme of the day was: RESILIENCE
 
Resilience in baseball.
Resilience in all sports.
Resilience in our society and the world at large.
 
The events of the day in many ways reflected our ability to rebound from difficult situations
and evolve.
 
The city of San Francisco is slowly working its way back to life over a year after the pandemic forced so many closures.
 
We are all collectively re-entering life from a quasi-monastic year of sheltering in.
 
Still, the noise of the crowd at Oracle Park, open to just 25% capacity, sounded like a packed house.
 
Sport can be a prism through which we directly and metaphorically view the lessons of culture and the pulse of our time.
 
A league is finding a way to reinvent itself and bring out the best in the players and fans.
 
Major League Baseball is making a powerful statement by removing the All-Star game from Atlanta in response to voting rights abuses. 
 
Evolution and de-evolution are both in the air.  Resilience is the theme of our times.
 
The winds of change are blowing. Where shall they take us?