UNCW Baseball

UNCW Baseball has started and the team is going strong after a rough start at 9-7. This season has taken on a whole new aspect for me because now I am no longer just a fan, I am a girlfriend. It is a lot harder to enjoy a game when you are close to the players on the field. My boyfriend, Daniel Cropper, is a starting pitcher on the team and I think that before games where he pitches, I am more nervous than him. He is a strong pitcher, who like any other player, has his highs and lows.

It is my job to be whatever he needs before, during and after his games. That may sound silly but baseball is so important to him and it always has been a favorite sport of mine. I am learning his rituals and needs prior to a game and adjusting around them. The day before and the day of a start I try to be less needy than I typically am. He is extremely calm going into a game. I, on the other hand, am not! I am nervous and testy and anxious. My family and friends are learning quickly that I am not one to mess with prior to a start.

It is funny how I changed from a simple fan who will cheer when something good happens to a support system and protective girlfriend during a game. Having three brothers I have always loved baseball. I understand it and I enjoy it. But if someone crosses me or my boys during a game I am the first one to stand up for them. I yell, I heckle, I protect. My boyfriend is 6'4" and confident. I am 5'3" and a force of nature. The first weekend was in Jacksonville, FL and they had quite a group of hecklers. It took me yelling one comment to shut them up. I think everyone found it so funny because I am so small and held back until it comes to games. Even the next day the hecklers tried to test me rather than the team and I shut them up again. Needless to say they did not show up at the final game. I do not heckle unless heckled first. Even last night in a 14-1 outstanding performance by the team and an 8 strikeout, 3 hit, 1 run performance by Daniel, I was the loudest one out there.

I am extremely proud of Daniel and everything he does. I do not necessarily want him to be the best one out there and I am not cocky about being his girlfriend because really I have nothing to do with it. All I hope is that Daniel does his best. As long as he does that I am happy. I am the one who is there for him after a bad game so he can gripe and groan about whatever changed the game around and the one who is the first to hug him after a good game. It is funny how I have gone from not even knowing who he was when he introduced himself to me to being his biggest fan (or next biggest to his Dad). Baseball has become a way of life for me. I have way too much UNCW Baseball gear and try to be at as many games as possible. It could be Daniel's future, having been already drafted by the Washington Nationals this past summer, but even if it is not I will always be a fan of baseball and of anything Daniel chooses to do. I do not rely on his future, but it is wonderful to see a dream of his actually coming true.

I really hope everyone comes out to a game this year. They have struggled but are on a great roll and are finally finding their spot. The team loves having any fans at all and UNCW has such a wonderful program. I am sure that if you come out, I will be there, loud and proud. Lets just hope the rest of the season goes this way. GO SEAHAWKS and #22!