What Opening Day Means As a Cincinnati Reds Fan

CINCINNATI -- Nobody does Opening Day like Cincinnati. From the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, to the party outside on The Banks, to the pregame festivities inside Great American Ball Park, to the game itself, Opening Day has become a holiday in the Queen City and one of the best days of the year in Cincinnati.

Debates can be had on when the first day of Spring actually is. But on Opening Day, Winter is over. It's the start of a long Spring and Summer where we get to watch our city's Major League Baseball team compete almost daily for six months. This year, the Reds could be a really exciting team. That makes the day even more of a celebration. When the Reds have the potential to be good, especially coming off a Postseason appearance last year, Opening Day is even more fun. It's the start of a season that, every day, you have a feeling the Reds are going to be in contention.

That's the thing about Opening Day. It doesn't matter how good the team you root for might be or might not be. On Opening Day, optimism is abundant. It's the start of a journey where you never really know how it might unfold. Take 2010, for example. The Reds entered that season with nine straight losing seasons. But I remember the optimism that was there on that day, and for good reason. The Reds went on to win the first NL Central in 15 years that season, which was also their first Postseason berth since 1995.

This year, Opening Day will feel different for me. I moved to downtown Cincinnati last year and live on The Banks. Living there during the summer with the Reds in the pennant race was incredible. Now, I'll get to experience Opening Day for the first time as a Banks resident. I can't wait to be right in the action with friends I've made at my apartment and seeing the whole city of Cincinnati come together for the start of the baseball season. I'm not even going to the game, and I still can't wait. It will still feel like I'm at the game even just sitting in my apartment which is right across the street from the main entrance to the ball park.

Opening Day itself is for family and friends to get together to begin another baseball season. It's the first day of a routine coming back into our lives, with us planning our days around the Reds games. The Reds games act as a familiar friend returning to our lives, a friend we can go to 162 times over the next six months for three hours to distract us from our daily lives.

My grandmother went to high school at Walnut Hills in Cincinnati. She tells me that on Opening Day, school would start and end an hour early. That way, kids who wanted to go to Opening Day could go.

You know what else I love about Opening Day?

Welcoming back the Reds broadcasters into our daily lives. There's nothing better than turning on the TV at night, after a day's work, and hearing John Sadak, Barry Larkin, and Chris Welsh broadcast Reds games. The only thing that can maybe top it, though, is getting in my car, rolling down the windows, and cruising along while listening to Tommy Thrall and "The Cowboy" Jeff Brantley on 700 WLW. I grew up listening to Marty Brennaman either in my car or on my patio while grilling burgers. It's a familiar feeling of being able to turn on the Reds on the radio or watch the games on TV.

The foods we love come back into our lives in more abundance as the weather warms and the scenery on The Banks awakens from another long, cold winter. There's nothing like settling in at Great American Ball Park with a Kahn's hot dog with sauerkraut—even though Nathan's is my favorite hot dog brand. A hot dog at a Reds game is as synonymous with summer as a pina colada by the pool in July.

Plus, on Opening Day, is there anything better, besides a hot dog at the game, than making a trip to Skyline?

Baseball is a way of life in Cincinnati. Even as Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins have made the Bengals the most popular team in Cincinnati, the Reds still hold a special place in the heart of Queen City sports fans. There's nothing like going to a Reds game in the summer, whether it be on a Tuesday night with the sun setting or on a Saturday afternoon with blue skies and bright sunshine.

Great American Ball Park is a place for the community of Cincinnati to come together. That's what Baseball, which can be viewed as a metaphor for life, is about in Cincinnati; bringing the community together to root root for the Redlegs.

Today is a return to normalcy in our lives as sports fans in Cincinnati, knowing that on most days over the next six months, we can set aside three hours to watch Reds games with our families and the Reds broadcasters who, in a way, have become our friends.

I'm predicting the Reds to go 88-74 and be the top of the three Wild Card teams in the National League. In addition, I believe they win their best-of-three Wild Card Series, with home-field advantage, and advance to the National League Division Series. Winning a Postseason series, at home no less, would be a cathartic moment for the city of Cincinnati. Seeing this team in the Postseason would be an incredible part of Fall in Cincinnati. The fans are ready.

More importantly, the city of Cincinnati and Reds fans are ready for Opening Day. It's become a holiday for so many in the Queen City. Wherever you are on Opening Day, I hope you enjoy being a part of the great community of Reds fans, eating all of your favorite foods from your favorite Cincinnati staples, and relishing the familiar feeling of having Reds Baseball back in our daily lives.