When you hear the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd, you get energized and you feel the suspense in the air. The the ball lands on the other side of the fence, the crowd is rushing onto the field and the scoreboard reads 6 to 5. Baseball is why I am proud to be an American.

Brats and hamburgers searing over the charcoal fire is what defines tailgating. Tossing bean bags or throwing the pigskin become the focus. The smell of meat draws us in with our growling stomachs in the final minutes before the game.

The chill that runs down your spine that is easily dismissed by the unknown events ahead. The bases are loaded and two strikes are counted. Do the underdogs win or do the champions hold their lead?

My first game as a Brewers fan was the most memorable sports game I’ve gone to. I vividly remember the smell of hotdogs and the crack of peanut shells. “You see the two runners on the bases, they are the two runs that could give us the lead”. My grandfather always loved taking me to games just as my father continued to do.

I love baseball and I will continue to be captivated by it. I am proud to be an American because of the crack of the bat, the peanut shells, and the suspenseful leads.