SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In the polarized world we live in, partisan and angry debates are inevitable. I discovered that sad truth the other night at a local bar a few blocks from Salt River Fields.
I was sitting at the bar, sipping a nice glass of Malbec and eating shrimp and grits (a weird combination? You decide). I struck up a conversation with a seemingly friendly woman from Boston who now lives in Florida. She had family ties to Colorado and had been to a few games in Coors Field.
When I told him what I did for a living, I grimaced, knowing what was coming next.
“Isn’t that new purple on the Rockies uniforms the worst?” she asked, grimacing. “I mean, it’s way too purple.”
When I told her I liked the new look, there was an awkward silence. I insisted that the color was brighter and made the logo more distinctive. She frowned.
I broke the silence by asking her what uniforms she liked. Big mistake. The debate raged. It sounded like we were discussing President Trump’s hair or President Obama’s golf game. It was that intense.
She liked the Red Sox uniforms, of course. And that was fine, I liked them too. She reluctantly admitted that she liked the classic Yankees stripes. So did I.
But then she dropped the bomb.
“You know who has the worst uniforms?” she asked, ready to fight. “The St. Louis Cardinals. What’s that little bird on the jersey? That’s ridiculous.”
I was baffled. Appalled. Dumbfounded. How could anyone not love the classic Cardinals uniform worn by Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver and Ozzie Smith?
“Are you kidding me? The Cardinal perched on the bat is iconic,” I said. “It’s one of the best uniforms in all of sports.”
But she refused to back down. So I asked her what other baseball uniforms she hated. She didn’t hesitate.
“The Oakland costumes are flashy, with all the green and gold,” she said. “They look like Halloween costumes.”
Once again, I was baffled. Dismayed. Stunned. Etc.
“That green and gold uniform, with the white shoes? It’s fantastic. It’s unique,” I retorted.
We were treading on dangerous ground. It was like Nancy Pelosi showing up at a Tea Party event and then realizing that no tea was actually being served.
So I tried to find some common ground.
“You probably like the Detroit Tigers“Uniforms with the old English ‘D’?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” she replied. “It’s so classic. Who wouldn’t like that?”
Exactly. When you see the “D,” you think of Detroit. It’s an iconic city.
With the uniform debate somewhat settled, we settled down to finish our drinks and dinner.
Then we started talking about Trump and his speech to Congress and… well, that’s a column for another section of the newspaper.
Full disclosure: I actually had this conversation with this woman from Florida. I admit I may have embellished the conversation a bit for the purposes of this column. But the basic opinions are genuine. And, by the way, she really, really hates Rocky Mountain purple. Please don’t tell anyone. Dinger.
