Baseball Fans Excited, Worried About Opening Day

The Major League Baseball season in the U.S. begins on April 1. The first day of games is known as Opening Day.

For most baseball fans, it is the first time they have been able to see their favorite teams and players since the end of the 2019 season.

In 2020, the season started late, and fans were not permitted to come to games during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By October, some fans could go to games in controlled environments called bubbles². The Los Angeles Dodgers³ won the season's final game and became champions.

Opening Day

Historically, Opening Day signals the arrival of spring after a long winter. And baseball fans are filled with excitement and optimism⁴.

But this year will be different. Fans are still excited and optimistic, but they are also worried about returning to group events.

The Washington Post conducted a poll⁵ of sports fans with the help of the University of Maryland. It found that less than half of Americans would feel comfortable attending a sporting event.

More fans said they would feel better about attending an outdoor game like baseball compared to an indoor game such as basketball. Also, they would feel better about going to a game if fans were required to wear face coverings, tested for the virus or received a vaccine⁶.

Cities around the U.S. with baseball teams are cutting back the number of fans who can attend. The famous New York Yankees baseball team will let about 10,000 fans attend the games. The fans will need to be vaccinated⁷ or tested for the virus.

In Washington, D.C., about 5,000 people will be able to go to games in the first part of the season. They will be required to sit apart from each other and keep their faces covered most of the time.

"I hope that those 5,000, at least at the start who are allowed in, kind of realize how lucky they are just to be there. You know, 35,000 every night at least who would happily trade places with them and deal with the protocols⁹ in place."

That is Scott Allen. He is a sports writer for the Washington Post.

The poll from the Washington Post does note, however, that sports fans are more at ease¹⁰ with the idea of attending games today than they were at this time last year. About 65 percent said going to a game in May 2020 was "a large risk." Now that number is down to 26 percent.

One person who is willing to take the risk is a baseball fan named Greg. He was walking with his family outside the Washington Nationals ballpark on Tuesday.

"I'm excited," he said. "I'm taking my dad. I missed sitting in the seats, watching the game and drinking a beer. Just the whole ballpark atmosphere."

There were others, however, who wanted to wait and see how the first part of the season went before going back to the games.

Dan Sullivan was with a friend at a coffee shop near the Washington Nationals home. He said he will wait to be vaccinated before going to a game. He does not mind missing¹¹ Opening Day.

"I hope the people who are there are going to enjoy it, but most people are not there," he said. Since so few fans are allowed, he does not feel as if he is missing out.

Allen, the Washington Post writer, said even with Opening Day being so different, he thinks fans will see it as a return to normalcy.

"[The baseball season] is way to mark time and important moments in your life. People couldn't do that last year, and I think it hurt them. It feels more like the start of spring and what should be an enjoyable summer when you know that almost every day you're going to be able to turn on the baseball game, or go to see your favorite team."

Words in This Story

bubble¹ –n. a group created during the pandemic that prevents new people from entering

excitement –n. a feeling of eager enthusiasm¹² and interest : the state of being excited

optimism –n. a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future : a feeling or belief that what you hope for will happen

poll –n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

comfortable – adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty¹³

allow–v. to permit (something) : to regard or treat (something) as acceptable¹⁴

protocol⁸ –n. a system of rules that explain the correct conduct and procedures¹⁵ to be followed in formal situations

ballpark –n. a term for a baseball stadium

1 bubble   

n.泡，水泡，气泡；泡影，妄想；v.(使)起泡

参考例句：

• The water begins to bubble.水开始起泡了。
• Their hopes of success have burst like a bubble.他们成功的希望已经成了泡影。

2 bubbles   

泡( bubble的名词复数 )； 泡影； 肥皂泡； （欲表达的）一点感情

参考例句：

• Bubbles are rising from the bottom of the boiling water. 水泡从沸水的底部升到水面。
• The incorporation of air bubbles in the glass spoiled it. 玻璃含有气泡，使它质量降低。

3 dodgers   

n.躲闪者，欺瞒者( dodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a crackdown on fare dodgers on trains 对火车逃票者的严厉打击
• But Twain, Howells, and James were jeeringly described by Mencken as "draft-dodgers". 不过吐温、豪威尔斯和詹姆斯都是被门肯讥诮地叫做“逃避兵役的人。” 来自辞典例句

4 optimism   

n.乐观，乐观主义

参考例句：

• Don't pour cold water on their optimism.别给他们的乐观态度泼冷水。
• Optimism made him alive through the hard days.乐观主义使他在艰难的岁月里活了下来。

5 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

9 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

10 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

11 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

12 enthusiasm   

n.热情，激情；巨大兴趣；热衷的事物

参考例句：

• We set about our task at once with great enthusiasm.我们立刻兴致勃勃地干起来。
• A team which is full of enthusiasm is more likely to win.情绪高涨的球队更可能获胜。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

15 procedures   

程序； 手续； 步骤； 常规； 程序( procedure的名词复数 )； 手续； [计算机]过程； （为解决一个特殊问题而专门设计的）文字程序

参考例句：

• procedures that must be followed to ensure full compliance with the law 为确保严格遵守法律所必须遵行的程序
• You need to become fully conversant with the company's procedures. 你得对公司的程序了如指掌。