For die-hard football fans, Super Bowl Sunday is both the happiest day of the year for them and the saddest. Happy in that it is the culmination of a grueling 17-week season, three playoff rounds and, of course, the Super Bowl itself. Sad in that it marks the end of professional football until next fall.

But for die-hard baseball fans – and let’s face it, you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t one – the Super Bowl has an entirely different meaning. It means that there are now zero obstacles between now and the beginning of baseball season. And while it’s only right to show some compassion and sympathy to our football-loving brothers and sisters for the abrupt end to football season, as Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda says: “Let’s play some baseball!”

Although Super Bowl 51 was arguably one of the greatest in NFL history (courtesy of Tom Brady), Dodger fans got to check another day off the calendar leading up to Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the day that pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch for the beginning of spring training 2017. That’s 10 days from today … TEN DAYS!

Dodgers clubhouse manager Mitch Poole (right) helps load a tractor-trailer for the 364-mile trip from Dodger Stadium to Camelback Ranch for spring training.
(Video capture courtesy of Roberto Baly)

On that day the Chicago Cubs become defending World Series Champions instead of World Series Champions. On that day the devastating grand slam home run given up by an otherwise near-perfect Joe Blanton to pinch-hitter Miguel Montero in Game-1 of the 2016 National League Championship Series no longer matters. On that day it no longer matters that the Dodgers came up two wins short of their first World Series appearance in 28 years. Instead, what matters now is the Dodgers gettig into the 2017 postseason, hopefully with a franchise-record fifth NL West Division title. And though Dodger fans must somehow learn to cope with a Vin Scully-less 2017 Dodgers team, they embrace the young and extremely talented Joe Davis as their new full-time play-by-play man.

Yes, Super Bowl Sunday is an important day each year. But for true, die-hard Dodger fans, its importance is less about football and more about baseball.

Camelback Ranch here we come!
(Photo courtesy of hksinc.com – Click on image to enlarge)