my "boyfriend"...an 18-year crush

well, as many of you know, i am OBSESSED with baseball (in general), the astros (more specifically), and biggio (most importantly). in my close circle of friends (as well as in my classroom), he's affectionately referred to as "my boyfriend."

when i was in high school, one of my friends' dad was one of the astros' coaches, and i basically lived at the astrodome during the summers. i actually had many a dinner with people like tommy lasorda and ken caminiti (in fact, i was at caminiti's house the day he and his wife brought home their oldest daughter from the hospital). the funniest thing for me was that while i recognized the fact that he was an amazing ballplayer, i was overwhelmed by his stupidity off the field (my dad and i have many jokes about him), so i didn't think it was a big deal that i was around him all the time (plus i have never been one to be star-struck). anyway, i digress...

i used to have a very innocent crush on billy doran (pre-biggio 2nd baseman). then when i was 15 this guy came up. he was only 22 at the time, and he was really hot (with a baby face). his name was craig biggio, and he was the new catcher...and i wanted to meet him.

well, one night after a game, i was hanging out outside the clubhouse with my friends stephanie and mary grace waiting on matt (mary grace's dad) and paul (her brother). well, they walked out with biggio, and matt introduced him to steph and me...and he said hi to us and then KISSSED ME ON THE CHEEK. hello! i felt like marsha on the brady bunch episode where desi arnaz jr. kisses her, and she'll "never wash this cheek again". steph was pissed b/c she just got a "hi" and i got a kiss. (see, even then, i was more appealing to guys from up north...he's from ny/nj).

anyway, that was the beginning of my obsession with "my boyfriend", and the longest crush of my life. not to mention the fact that he's an incredible baseball player who is so much fun to watch. we used to call him pigpen b/c he'd always get so dirty at games.

and while in my close circle of friends, we say that berkman "loves baseball :)", the biggest lover of baseball in my book is the guy who at 40 still plays like he's 15. friday night, he scored all 3 of the astros runs. in last night's game, he hit a single, a double, and a homerun. and today, he was 4 for 4 with a dinger (i think, i missed some of the game while i was in the car...because my antenna is screwed and i can't get am stations without holding my arm outside the window and pointing the antenna in different directions. yes, i am bordering on white trash, i know). the point is, biggio's amazing! i swear he's getting better and more fun to watch every year...i love "my boyfriend"!