This is what it’s all about, folks. One of the most magical days of the year. The one day that every single team is in the same place. Some rosters are better than others, some fanbases are more optimistic than others, but everyone’s record is exactly the same- 0-0.

This day also starts a 7-month-long betting journey that can drive even the sanest man into the looney bin. It also brings with it the start of spring which means warm weather, hot dogs, and ice-cold domestic light beers.

Today, anything is possible. Hope springs eternal. Everyone is capable of doing the impossible, winning the 2023 World Series title. Everyone believes that THEIR TEAM could be the Cinderella that shocks the world or that their team is the powerhouse that will steamroll the rest of the league. Anything. Is. Possible.

Whether you are a fan that watches your team play all 162 games, a casual baseball fan, or someone who thinks it is the most boring sport ever created, I hope you feel the optimism radiating across America today. Don’t be afraid to use that last skip day you’ve been saving in your class, to take off from work early because of a “stomach bug,” and to sit on the couch with a hot dog and a beer and enjoy your one day of true, unimpeachable hope.

This term that I used earlier “hope springs eternal” is said every Opening Day and to be honest I never really knew where it came from, so I did some research. It originally came from a 1732 poem An Essay on Man by Alexander Pope. It really is a beautiful piece of work and one of the points he is trying to make is that innate human ignorance is what allows us to have hope.

Our ignorance allows us to live a full and happy life without the burden of understanding our fates. Instead of consuming ourselves with what we don’t know and can’t control, we should focus on hoping for a peaceful life to come.

Now I understand why we use this term on Opening Day. No one knows what lies ahead, and chances are that things will be grim. For 29 teams, the season will ultimately be a failure. But for one team, there will be a peaceful life to come. And maybe, just maybe, that team will be yours. Hope springs eternal.

So enjoy Sons and Daughters of Spring. May your hope shine as long as your team allows it. And as always, #LFGM.