Editor:

I appreciated Matthew Ouellette’s sarcastic column in the March 30 issue of The Daily Utah Chronicle titled, “Does religion hurt what’s really important?” His “fish out of water” situation isn’t hard to understand. I, born and raised in Utah, must also constantly root for pro sports teams that are not in my state, as he did in Maine.

This is, of course, with the exception of the Utah Jazz, of whom I’ve been a fan for as long as I can remember (we will hold on to the eighth spot and outlast the Kings in the first round). I am glad for you, Mr. Ouellette, that the Patriots decided that they will represent all of New England or else you might not have had even one “local” pro team.

As for baseball and church, you couldn’t be more correct about their similarities. They both can last for hours and hours, mostly consisting of sheer boredom with sprinkles of excitement and epiphany. Both gather people together to root for a common team. And both claim that visitors are welcome, even though you know that if visitors do show up, it can get kind of messy.

Possibly one advantage that baseball has over church is that it is usually held outside in the fresh air. But I guess when you sit on a couch and watch it on TV, it sort of negates that advantage.

My advice to you would be to go with some buddies and support the local AAA baseball club, the Salt Lake Stingers, whose season begins at Franklin Covey Field on April 8. But you’d probably just complain about the alcohol content of the beer there.

Oh, Matthew, will you ever win?

Michael Oja

Graduate Student, Metallurgical Engineering