Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Ein simcha bikhfar ha-botz

If you understood the allusion in the headline, you probably agree with Michael Freund:

Why Israel needs baseball

Should we sing "Buy me some peanuts and sunflower seeds"?

4 comments:

David Boxenhorn said...

The story is more interesting than most people know. Here it is.

Zman Biur said...

David,

Thanks for the pointer. I had forgotten how wonderful the poem is. It captures the spirit of baseball so perceptively and timelessly. I can't conceive of a similar epic written about any other sport.

kaspit said...

The article is ok but the author is terribly opinionated. And to bring up 1986 in such a callous way. Only since last year have I been able think about it w/some serenity.

Kaspit (kaspit.typepad.com)

Plenty of good baseball books, too

Zman Biur said...

Kaspit,

Opinionated? Mike Freund? Wherever would you get such an idea?

And I'm with you about 1986 - I was visiting New York during the World Series, sitting in a cafe with the game on, cheering on the Red Sox. The locals were not pleased.

Notice that he doesn't mention the questionable Jewish values behind that other unique baseball play: the steal!