Ah, Opening Day. Just hearing those magical words brightens your spirit, right? Only 33 more days until Cardinals baseball officially begins for 2014, and only 40 days until the real Opening Day, the Cards home opener.

A friend has joked for years that Opening Day should be a holiday, which I absolutely agree with — especially since I usually take the day off anyway (actually, days, since the Cards seems to open on the road far too often in recent years). And now Ozzie Smith and Budweiser are leading a charge to officially make it so.

Just read the description for the petition to the White House and tell me this doesn’t get you even more excited for baseball after this long, dreadful winter:

MLB Opening Day is more than just the beginning of the season. It’s a symbol of rebirth. The coming of spring. The return of America’s national pastime. It’s a state of mind where anything is possible. You can feel the electricity in the air. Opening Day brings with it the promise of a new beginning. Every fan is in good spirits. It’s a day of celebration. It’s a day of hope. It’s a day that, for generations, has been looked forward to by baseball fans every off-season. It’s an American tradition, and it deserves to be recognized as an American holiday. Join us in our quest to make sure every American can exercise their inalienable right to celebrate the day those two magical words are uttered for the first time: “PLAY BALL!”

Poetry on its own, right? You can sign the petition here, as 100,000 signatures are needed for it to move forward and I was No. 20,996. (Never mind the logistics of what Opening Day would be the holiday, with games in Australia this year and on Sunday Night Baseball. It will all work out.)

Yet, with today being Wednesday, more poetry is needed …

Despite confusion
Of when Opening Day is
Baseball is our right.

Those magical words
“Play ball!” make all good once again.
A holiday? Yes!

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