During quarantine, I have had a lot of time to revisit old memories. One of my favorite memories occurred just last summer. I spent a week with my family in Lombard, Illinois. I loved every minute of that trip, from watching Netflix and HGTV with my aunts, to going to my first Major League White Sox Baseball game. We had the perfect seats, right behind home base. I really bonded with my Uncle Stan more than I ever think I have and then at my very first game, the White Sox won! There was a pretty awesome fireworks show afterwards. It was my favorite night of the trip.

My family is made

up of plenty of White Sox fans. In fact, I don’t think I know a single member of my family who does not love the White Sox. My great grandfather lived about three blocks from Comiskey park. My family has a very special connection to the White Sox, as my Great Grandpa John McBride was 15- years -old when he was asked to be the bat boy for the Chicago White Sox. He always loved baseball and he was a huge fan of the White Sox. After the games with his friends they would pick up bottles and they would also collect baseballs and ask the players to autograph them. The team recognized that work and offered him the bat boy position. He did this for many years, and was with the team when they played their first ever MLB All Star game.

I did not know my great grandpa, but I am proud to be his great granddaughter. From what I heard, he was a great dad to my aunts and a great grandpa to my mom. There is a very special picture in my family, of my grandpa shaking hands with baseball legends, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. The picture was taken shortly after Babe Ruth hit the first home run for the MLB’s first All-Star game. Babe Ruth then told my great-grandpa, “Thanks, kid.”

If life was normal right now, my family would be rooting for our team. But since, obviously, life isn’t exactly what a single person in this world would call even close to normal, my family doesn’t have any games to watch. Personally, I love rooting for a team, but I get bored easily when watching a game on TV. I do hope there will be a little bit of baseball on TV this summer, so that my family and others can keep rooting. After my experience this spring, I don’t think I will be quite as bored watching baseball. I have never really played baseball, and I don’t think I would be very interested (I’m more of a tennis person…).

EDITOR’S NOTE: Anja McBride is 15 years old and has been a member of 8-18 Media since she was 8 years old. She loves reading and tennis.