When I was up in Charlotte for some training at the end of March, while my compatriots were shopping in the Bass Pro Shop, I stepped out into the Concord Mills Mall proper to buy something different.
The 2012 baseball season had yet to begin and in spite of their somewhat lackluster spring training record, I was optimistic for a nice run to the playoffs for the FRS.
It was time to replace my old Red Sox hat, it had several jagged white lines of dried sweat rings in the cap area* and the brim was getting kind of floppy.
* Sweat rings in a ball cap are only acceptable for superstitious pro baseball players and old school farmers.
My last hat had the big B on the front, but the Sox had a new manager this year and hopefully a new attitude, so this time I wanted a new look. Ducking into a Lids store nearby the Bass Pro Shop, I picked out my hat, tried it on to make sure it fit and paid the man. I opted for the dangling socks logo – Style 20000459.
I wore my new cap proudly in April even though they got off to a rocky start, showing that my fandom for the Red Sox was sincere and I was not just some bandwagon hopper. But the deeper in the month we went, the less likely this was that it was only a slow start, but more an indication that I was in for a long losing summer.
I had the hat on this weekend and when I looked in the Purple Whale’s rear view mirror, noticed that dangling socks were not exactly centered** over the brim. Hmmm. Probably off by only a half a degree and noticeable by only me, but it kind of soured my wanting to continue to wear the hat.
**Should have checked myself in a mirror when I tried on the hat.
Monday morning when I read The Soxaholix web comic, it captured my feelings exactly: The Glass Is Completely Vacated
I guess I will wear the hat one more time, it will be on a cloudy day when Donna and I go out to eat somewhere in Augusta, so I can “accidentally” leave it in the booth and not really “notice” it until it is too late to go back for it.
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