Postseason Baseball : The Most Stressful Time of the Year

    Anyone who knows me, or knows of me, knows that I am a diehard Phillies fan. I was there for the hard times of the late 90's, and I was there in the front row of Championship Parade down Broad Street. I eat, sleep and live baseball. I think it is the greatest game ever invented. I know some people don't share the same enthusiasm as I do. They find it hard to see excitement in such a slow paced sport. Now with that said, I know I am going to get a lot of funny looks when I say: "For me, there is nothing more stressful and nerve racking than watching the Phillies in Red October."

   At the middle and end of every semester here at USciences, students are (for the most part) required to take midterms and finals for each of their classes. That means late nights trying to recall all the information you crammed in your brain for the first time. That means reviewing dozens of pages of notes and slides, half of which you can't even find. That right there is probably what most people consider the most stressful time of the year. I don't. An exam or a project, you can control that. You can control the outcome of the exam and what grade you are going to get. I was never one to worry the night before a test. As long as I put the effort in, I knew I would be just fine. Watching the Phillies in the post season- that is something you can not control. You can't control how well the three headed monster of Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt (also known as H20-funny because I go to a science school) will pitch. You can't control how well Utely, Howard and Ibanez are going to hit against Lefties. Instead, you have to sit there and wait. Wait for every pitch, every swing, and every out.

   From the second I wake up in the morning of a playoff game I start feeling stressed and worried. Hundreds of scenarios run through my head during the entire day. The good, the bad, the ugly... its all in there.  As for the wait for the start of the game- torture! The clock seems to stand still, not moving a single degree around the circle. By the time the game actually starts, my nerves are shot. My heart is beating at a marthon pace and my legs start to bounce up and down ( I have the worst case of the "jimmy legs" during games) uncontollably. After the game, I am emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. If the Phillies win, I sleep like a baby. If they lose, look out!

   Now you may ask "why, why are you writing about this." Here at USci, there is not a semester that goes by that you don't do some sort of research project. Research is an important learning tool at this University. With that said, I think it would be really cool to do research on the effects on the body while watching a playoff game. I am certain that I would find something! Before my time is done here at Usci, I will do a research project on this, even if I have to do it on my self! Thanks for listening to my rant, and GO PHILLIES!!!!


- Ryan