The Sandlot

Ben just turned 4, and I figured, he is old enough to enjoy the greatness of “The Sandlot”.  We watched it Sunday night and I started thinking of why I loved it so.  
 
If you have lived under a rock since 1993, The Sandlot is an extremely fun movie. A movie that displays what I think my childhood was, but wasn’t quiet.  A childhood where I wandered on home whenever the streetlights started to glow. A childhood where I lived near Darth Vader/Mustfa/
Terrence Mann. It’s all fantastic – laid out before our eyes like a far better version of dad’s old stories.  
 
This movie came out when I in 3rd or 4th grade.   I had tons of great
friends either by this point or soon after that I played baseball with as soon
as the snow started to melt in Minnesota, and until the first blizzard rolled
in.  (Englemann, Armstrong, Graving, Smith, looking in your direction)  It’s was also a strange age where certain classmates are starting to see girls the way you’re supposed to see girls.  Some of them are breaking
away from the pack. But most of us weren’t, and we’d be at a loss for the next ten (to one hundred) years as to explain just why and how those people became so special back then.

 Scotty Smalls is a perfect character to represent the agony of being young and unliked. He’s new, awkward, and he’s coping with a new father figure who seems too busy to connect with his new son. Now, I don’t remember many of my friends having step parents at that time, but they may have, but fitting in is rough.  Even his friends don’t like him in the beginning. He’s nervous, difficult to have around, and he becomes a burden during the afternoons that should be pure fun. What’s beautiful about the movie is that we see that kid come into his own.

More so than Smalls (you’re killing me), we get to see a romanticized version of history where the neighborhoods are safe and full of adventure. The local swimming pool – where the cute, slightly older lifeguard gives us something to look at. The block party – where families got together and
we shot off fireworks. The carnival – where we all acted like idiots.  I don’t recall actually having any of these, but I feel like we had similar things with friends and their families.

 The main part of the movie was that darn Babe Ruth-signed baseball
that Smalls foolishly brought out onto the field and subsequently knocked into the belly of the Beast.  (While none of us had a Babe Ruth autograph, we did have elaborate baseball card collections and would almost always bring over out book of our “Best Cards” to each other’s house.  I rarely
remember trading cards, but we often talked about it.)  A part of me thought it would be back there FOR-EV-ER, but for the tensest drama of the movie, it’s given a remarkably small amount of screen time. They fight
and claw, use an Erector Set, and finally the PF Flyers are strapped on. It’s
true. They are scientifically proven to make you run faster and jump higher. Try it at home.  I bought a pair in 2006, results were conclusive… I don’t jump very high.

As I ramble on about this movie and how great it is, I know why I love it.  Reminds me of my childhood, I feel patriotic as i watch it, I love baseball, and it is entertaining as can be.  You get warm and fuzzies while watching it.  What is your favorite part of quote of it?