"He held her tight and kissed her lips/In front of the picture show/Stranger came and pulled a gun/Grabbed her by the arm said "If you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm"/And Johnny said "Take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards/Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me/Here's the key to my car Mister give it a whirl/ But please don't take the girl" - Don't Take The Girl by Tim McGraw
So while perusing the internet yesterday, about to adjust my three fantasy baseball teams rosters for the day, I stumbled across this phenomenal video from the Houston Astros game on Tuesday night. “Bo the Bailer” has he has become affectionately dubbed in the media, was enjoying the first inning of the Astros 10-4 victory over Atlanta when all of a sudden a foul ball came screaming towards him and his girlfriend Sara. What ensued says a lot about the culture of relationships today.
As the ball comes rocketing down the left field line Bo jumps up to attempt and catch the souvenir. Instead, just before he gets his hand on it, Bo pulls a Neo Anderson and jumps out of the way allowing the ball to hit poor Sara right in the arm. (Check out the video here)
As if the lovely Sara didn’t have a bad start to the game already, when the TV reporter comes to talk to the couple, Bo says he “lost the ball in the lights”. Furthermore, Bo just sat there looking embarrassed and trying to laugh it off while a visible bruise was starting to form on his significant others right elbow. After watching this video numerous times, asking a few girls at the office how they would react, and reading some articles this is a painful notation of the way relationships are heading in our culture.
Now, I don’t know how long Bo and Sara have been together (or if they still are after that) and I don’t know what kind of girl Sarah is. For all we know, those two can laugh about for years and tell the story of how Dad got national “fame” for letting Mom get hit with a baseball. But what I do know is that Bo is a guy who really doesn’t know how to be a true man:
A) It’s a foul ball dude, c’mon make the catch! How many times have you been to a baseball game and when someone can’t catch the ball everyone boos and laughs at him? Seriously, you had to have played baseball at some point, get your hands on it. Besides, at any other stadium (because the Astros are atrocious) you don’t catch it, that ball ain’t yours.
B) First rule of getting the ball is to keep your body in front of it. Don’t jump out of the way, and if you are gonna dodge it, get IN FRONT OF THE GIRL! Let it hit a stranger; at least you won’t have to hear them complain in the car ride home.
Again, I don’t know how their relationship is or the type of people they are, but they look like a young couple, I’m guessing 17-22, and this culture has a love affair with ourselves. We are always concerned about me, myself, and I. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you I’m looking to make this the best for me, but when you are in a relationship you have to think of the other person too. Think of their well-being and their happiness. As I continuously look for jobs I wonder, what will this do for my current relationship? Where do I go that will make her happiest or keep her happy? Things like that.
However, as I read all the reaction to this incident I saw a post in which the writer declared that chivalry is dead. And to a point I agree. But I also feel that the idea of chivalry has been lost because of the cultural changes and may not even be needed anymore. The idea of chivalry goes back to 1950’s Pleasantville…not 21st Century Houston. Let me explain:
What has always been the cultural identity of men and women in relationships? Men are meant to provide and protect the family. Men go to work, bring home the money, and defend the household and those in it. Women have been meant to nurture and care for the family. They make the meals, they nurse the injuries and illnesses and they take care of the children. What Bo did, was not protect the family. He allowed his belle to get plunked with a potentially devastating weapon. But I can’t entirely blame him.
Again, we, the “millennia’s” as they have so adequately named us, are more focused on our personal well being and women in particular have debunked the old notion of being home makers which in turn has deterred some men away from the idea of being a provider and a protector.
I’m not trying to teach anyone how to be in a relationship, I know I’m not the best boyfriend in history but I know I make her happy and I know I’ll do what it takes to do that for as long as she’ll let me. But what I do know is I was raised to protect and provide for my family, whether that’s finding the best job to give her everything she wants and needs or getting rid of any threat to her I’m going to do it. And, as a former shortstop, you can be damn sure I’m getting in front of that ball.
But for others, like our beloved beau Bo, at least he won’t have a big ol’ bruise on his arm when going out to find his next date to a game…maybe just one across the face.
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