Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks
I don’t care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don’t win it’s a shame
‘Cause it’s one, two, three strikes your out
At the old ball game

Take me out to the ballgame, (Just hang on to my arm)
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and those Cracker Jacks
I don’t care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don’t win it’s a shame
‘Cause it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out
At the old ball game

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks
I don’t care if I never get back

Let me root, for the home team
If they don’t win it’s a shame
For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out
At the old ball game

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out with that crowd
Buy me some peanuts and those Cracker Jacks
I don’t care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don’t win it’s a shame
For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out
At the old ball game

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This weekend my spousal unit and I flew up to Seattle Washington to take in a baseball game at T-Mobile field. It was the last weekend of the year for the regular baseball season, and the championships for Major League Baseball (MLB) will soon be starting. Both teams we saw playing; the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A’s; were already eliminated from the playoffs, so for the players and fans, the weekend we attended was the last great summer culminating hurrah.

Sitting in the stands behind home plate, we both could feel the passion in the crowd! The rowdy Seattle Area fans along with many visiting Oakland Fans were cheering and cavorting. It was a grand time and place to enjoy the ‘American Past Time’ as it came to an annual conclusion. The sights, smell, and sounds of this great American tradition was a feast for the senses!

Enjoying the fantastic, cool fall weekend in Seattle, it was a terrific diversion from the oppressive heat and endless summer afflicting my home town. And this game did not disappoint us. It was a terrific experience.

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I think one of the most unique experiences in American Baseball is what occurs during the 7th inning stretch. After the visiting team finishes their ‘at bat’, thousands of fans all rise in unison to sing the old favorite, ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’.

This was an audio clip from our game, the final weekend for baseball in Seattle. I must confess, as an American Baseball junky, this moment is a huge part of the experience I have loved every since I was a kid. An amateur youth baseball player myself, there was no experience as grand as standing and singing the joyous words.

I know the World Cup has it’s iconic theme songs, “Ole, Ole, Ole’ as one example. And College Football has their fascinating fight songs. And the New Zealand rugby haka is amazing to experience. Great experiences all!

But I take particular joy in this Baseball classic tradition of standing up with the joyous crowd during the 7th inning stretch! The words reflect upon a young lad’s desire to have an adult figure take them out to the ball game to experience all the wonderful sights and sounds. There are even some traditional hand motions to share. The unifying tune harkens back to turn of the century America when baseball was truly a family affair. As a piece of true, nostalgic America, it is unique and one of a kind.

To have one of those truly iconic American of experiences, there is nothing else remotely equal to attending a big league MLB game. And of all the traditions that occur during a game, there is nothing that compares to standing and joining the crowd in belting out the joyous time hallowed tune.

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Cheers, NCA

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As a bonus, another take on the traditional song, LL Cool J…