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And so it begins. The 2017 season begins today for the Padres, now San Diego’s only professional major sports team.
The Chargers abandoned us so now the Padres are expected to get more attention from San Diego sports fans.
And despite the fact odds makers predict the Padres, with lots of young players, will finish at or near the bottom, there seems to be more optimism about the future than there has been in a long time.
Some of that may have to do with the sour and nasty way the owner of the Chargers betrayed the fans and split for L-A. Ironically, the Padres open their season today in L-A.
But the Padres may be just what San Diego needs right now to help us forget about the Chargers.
The Padres, as an organization, have proven they how to embrace their community.
And on and off the field with the Padres, there is no arrogance like we saw in Mission Valley. They are out to prove that they are THE team for San Diego now and in the future And that Petco Park is the place to be.
And while the NFL may think it’s the hottest thing in sports, it has turned its back on lots of their fans in San Diego and elsewhere.
And when it comes to the traditional heart and soul of sports fans in America, baseball is still the favorite pastime.
So what would you tell the Padres if you had a chance to give them some motivational advice? Well, you don’t have to. Padres manager Andy Green has done it. Here’s what the Padres manager told the San Diego Union Tribune about how he motivates his young players:
“There are two ways you can go in life,” Green said. “You can say, the odds are astronomically stacked against me so I’m going to hate everything and I’m not going to fight. Or you can say the odds are stacked against us, so we can take the approach we’re going to be the most surprising team in baseball history. The first doesn’t motivate at all. It doesn’t inspire. It doesn’t speak to the heart of a man. What speaks to the heart of a man is doing something that other people would think is impossible.”