In today’s Free Press there is a story that is titled “Christians call foul on baseball’s Opening Day.” I’m quoted early on in the story. The quotes are accurate, I’m not disputing them. But if you choose to read the article, read my quotes for what they are.
My quotes are:
“I can get around the meat thing,” said Ferris, a member of St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Troy.
“I’ll just stick to peanuts and popcorn because I don’t think there are too many seafood options at the stadium. But I’m not sure I can find a quiet place on the concourse at Comerica.”
I bring this up because I don’t view this as a controversy. I didn’t call foul or complain in any way. I was interviewed as a Catholic and a Tigers fan and what my plans were for the day. I didn’t view this is a controversy or something controversial. I’m not pushing the Tigers to change the time of the game, nor did I ever even think to suggest it as a possibility. I’m not even upset about the fact that the game was scheduled when it was.
I have been to 13 consecutive Opening Days with my friends. I’m also a practicing Catholic. With the game falling on the afternoon of Good Friday it does create a personal conflict for me. But it is a conflict that I need to work through and I wouldn’t expect the Tigers or MLB to try and accommodate me in this regard.
I’m posting about it here because, well, I can. This turned out to be much more controversial than I ever imagined. I’m not going to use this space to talk about the Catholic Church or my faith. This is a baseball site and I’m going to try and stay on topic. But I did want to clarify the remarks that I did make. (The first part of my comment does sound flippant, and while that wasn’t my intent, I did say it. I take abstaining from meat seriously and it’s not a matter of trying to “get around it” but that my day would be different than past Opening Days.)
I’m not going to open the comments on this post. While I trust that most can have a perfectly rational discussion about religion, it isn’t the topic of this site.