Opening Day

 April 1^st…. to many people this is a perfect day to play as many practical jokes on your friends and loved ones as possible. To reds fans April 1, 2013 means a new season is set to begin.

I have spent my last few posts talking about all the good the Cincinnati Reds do for their fans and their community, but this post will be about what baseball and the Cincinnati Reds do for me.

Growing up baseball was my life, I would have played all year around if I could (thanks Ohio) I absolutely love the game. There is a time in a baseball player’s life when you realize you either have what it takes to make it to the next level or you simply do not.

In my case I did not have the talent to play in college or at any other level so I am stuck as a spectator, even though I still throw the ole baseball around every once and a while. The sport kept me grounded, humble and it taught me responsibility and to me most importantly, it taught me to be a teammate and look out for those who share the field with you.

I see the Reds team of today and it reminds me how much I miss the game and the comradely I had with my teammates, but it also reminds me how much I love watching the team in Cincinnati take the field.

I always complain to my dad that I haven’t seen my favorite team win a championship, he always replies: “you were sitting on my lap as a one year old when they won a championship in 1990”! I always laugh and reply: “If only I could remember.”

I would love to see nothing less than the Reds to win a championship this season but in the mean time I will enjoy the 162-game season, one game at a time. I don’t have many hobbies in life except spending time with family and friends but to me being a die-hard Reds fan is my hobby.

Being in the Reds stadium gives me a since of comfort and relaxation. Seeing the game I love so much being played by great players, there is not a better stress reliever in the world to me.

Hope to see some of you in Cincinnati on April 1st. Go Reds!!

The Reds Community

When or if you think of the Cincinnati Reds, you think of a baseball team and maybe the players that make up the team, but what about the city of Cincinnati itself? Yes, that is where the team is located but it is not what the city and people of Cincinnati can do for the Reds, but what the Reds can do for Cincinnati and its residents.

Cincinnati is rare in the fact that baseball has been part of its culture for more than 130 years. Baseball runs deep in the neighborhoods in Cincinnati and the Reds Community Fund is actively searching for neighborhoods, but most importantly the kids in those neighborhoods to help and support.

Since its start in 2001, the Reds Community Fund has used baseball as a way to reach out to kids around the Cincinnati area. As a non-profit organization, the Community Fund makes every effort to create programming that connects underserved children with baseball, while forming fundraising programs that connect baseball with the community.

The community fund helps build and restore baseball fields and complexes around Cincinnati, down to Louisville and even in Dayton. A series of inspired, baseball-themed fundraising events and programs provides some of the necessary funding. The 2013 schedule features returning events such as "Redlegs Run " "Reds Baseball Camps" "Father's Day Catch," "Marty Brennaman Golf Classic," "Redsfest Poker," and "Split The Pot" raffle at all 81 home games. For dates and times of these events please refer to Reds.com.

The next time you think of the Cincinnati Reds hopefully it is not just baseball that comes to mind. With helping inner-city programs and giving kids other options as to how they spend their time, I cannot say enough good things about the Reds Community Fund and the people that make it a success for “Reds Country.”

If you would like to donate to or learn more about the Reds Community Fund you can visit reds.mlb.com/cin/community/.