You even hear a Lightning conversation every now and then. Listen closely, and you can hear crickets chirp. Also, birds burp. It is as if we think the Rays are sneaking up on the Orioles, and we don't want to say anything lest we spoil the surprise. The Rays were 20th in the league in spring training attendance, and they trained at home, where you would think a few more people than normal might pay attention.
Season tickets remain roughly half of that.
By now, the questions should be about baseball. It is baseball, for goodness' sakes. The sport we chased the way King Arthur chased the Holy Grail. We were going to jam the streets with our cars and the seats with our bodies. We were going to buy peanuts and Cracker Jack.