Okay so…I’m dating!
Yes…get hype for this one! I’ve had my share of ups and downs with online dating but my new guy has been a breath of fresh air and I am open to all of the abundance this new relationship has to give! Now of course there were things that caused other dates/relationships to never take off, but would you ever think liking baseball would be one of them?
In the essence of time and boundaries, I’ll share just this one experience. I was attempting to get to know a guy this past summer. It was right at the start of All-Star Week. I guess in hindsight maybe that wasn’t such a good idea because it was a super busy time. However, I did what I thought was my best in communicating upfront my agenda for a particular day and when I would likely be available to talk. I don’t know, but it became obvious that he didn’t care to understand all that All-Star Week was or allow some flexibility. I found myself defending why I liked baseball so much and traveled to the ballpark day after day that week. This guy also reminded me that I’m a woman and I’m Black…like I wanted to forget or be something different or that it excluded me from being a spectator.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t my only bad experience with dating and baseball and for some guys (clearly not the right one), it can be hard to understand a woman’s affinity for any sport…especially a sport like baseball. What is this the Republic of Gilead?!
Let’s do some math: There are 162 games during the regular baseball season and about half of those are home games. So if you’re a full-season ticket holder that’s roughly 81 home games. I have a half-season plan with the Nationals so that’s still 42 games. We haven’t even factored in the Postseason into this equation. Now that doesn’t mean folks go to every single game they have tickets for, because I surely don’t. That’s a lot of freaking games! But the probability of being at the ballpark and/or watching the games on tv multiple days out of the week is kinda high. Would only someone who loves or at the minimum can tolerate baseball understand and accept that?
Well given my past experiences with baseball and dating, I figured it was time to throw out a disclaimer to my new guy. It was the day after the Super Bowl. As I do most mornings, I jumped into Google Hangouts to chat with him. He sent a few messages about the Super Bowl and how low viewership was this time around. Good. I was still in my feelings about the outcome of the Saints/Rams game so I was pretty much done with football. Baseball season was coming and I finally had something to look forward to! I sent a few messages about baseball to change the subject (sorry babe) and to provide a segue to my disclaimer:
Me: I apologize in advance…baseball will become a huge part of my life over the next few months.
My New Guy: No apologies needed! Baseball will become a huge part of my life then.
Me (to myself): I’m sorry, what?!
Told ya…breath of freaking fresh air! Am I lucky or what?!
So after picking myself back off the floor I wondered: How important is it that your significant other like baseball (or insert any other interest) too? Do we just need the freedom to enjoy what we like or would we prefer their willingness to learn about and occasionally join us at what we’re interested in?
Have you had an experience (good or bad) dating during the season of your favorite sport or otherwise trying to enjoy something of interest? We want to know so feel free to share in the comments!
-Nika
Nika's On First 
You don’t have to like EVERY single thing, but it helps to connect on at least one big thing. 🙂
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I absolutely agree! I think that’s a reasonable expectation to have.
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