NFL
By: Randall Slifer
I heard about the movie Eephus from Twitter while scrolling through my timeline
and noticed certain comedians posting “Go see Eephus now!” I was intrigued to
see it, only to notice showtimes were rare and in theaters very far away– Living in
Arkansas, the closest theater showing Eephus was 90 miles away. But, I was
heading on a family trip to Dallas, and I pondered: bigger city, more showings,
right? There was only one showing the entire four days we would be in Dallas.
Luckily, it was a late showing, and we agreed to go one night. The exclusivity of
the showtimes intrigued me just as much as the movie itself and it lived up to its
expectations– it IS a top-five baseball movie.
I am not sure if I should put a disclaimer here for spoilers because really the
storyline of the movie is irrelevant to what the movie portrays. They don’t conceal
the underlying meanings and themes in the movie but embrace them through
impactful scenes. The story is about a washed-up men’s baseball league that is
playing their last game before their field gets torn down to build a school. It
shouldn’t be frowned upon, right? “There are no heroics, no championships on
the line”. These men are smoking on the field and trying to limit their beer
consumption, so they have enough to drink after the game. Everybody knows
everybody, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they like each other. Now, the pitch,
Eephus, is an off-speed pitch to trick the batter into becoming so confused they
either swing early or not at all. As defined in the movie, the Eephus pitch is “A
pitch that floats in the air for long enough where time itself slows down.” That
quote resonated with me deeply, so I watched the movie through that ‘lens of the
game’.
“Purpose is overrated; human interaction is what really counts.” Exciting times
and things you love help slow down your life so you can appreciate certain
moments. From small routines to planned events, these all make your day better,
but sometimes you do not realize it until you sit and think about it. A recreational
men’s baseball league where no team really has any business playing on a field,
can actually make a small community slow time down. Some people come and
watch as the last resort of entertainment, then an ex-player shows up to talk
about his past games. There is a snack cart, one ump, and a scorekeeper in the
box ensuring that the game is properly played as well as accounted for in the stat
book. The teams have been playing for decades, and the camaraderie is there, but
they are still discovering things about each other during this last game.
Camaraderie and comfortability are fun things to find as you become older. For
this group of guys, weekly baseball, its comraderies and ease provided one of
their moments that slowed down time for everyone involved in the league.
“They’re far from professionals; these are men who are more focused on which
bar to go to after the game than the game itself.” So much of life is putting on the
public face that you get excited when you can decompress and drop the filter. It’s
great to know how excited you are to get home on a typical day to your family, or
that bi-weekly hang with your friends to talk crap about their own favorite teams.
When you look at the clock hoping for 5:00 or looking at the calendar circled
Saturday night, time can’t slow down, but when wishing comes to fruition: that’s
a moment!
This baseball league, knowing it was their last game, made you feel that ‘last’ in
the air. Everyone knew how important this final game was to themselves and
each other, and they were determined to give it it’s proper send off. A player
found a deal on fireworks that were so cheap, he bought eight of them for a finale
after the game; however, the proper send-off felt more internal and unspoken
because they each knew this had made their lives better. The message to me isn’t
in its big form acknowledging every precious moment and holding onto it with an
everlasting grip. I think sometimes we all need to just take a step back, take a
deep breath, and just fully understand the moment that is happening in front of
you on any given day, and reflectively, as I left the theater, I thought, “I think I
complain too much.” I mean everyone sometimes enjoys the nights where your
plans fall through so you can just relax on the couch—it’s that simple. “The
communities you choose to build and the communities you voluntarily enter into,
you can drink the Kool-Aid and buy into it.” The places and events that you are
drawn to have a good reason why you end up in that spot on that day. Fill the
world with optimism and enjoy the ride instead of checking the clock for when it
is time to leave—you’ll appreciate the moments.
I implore you to go see Eephus when you can and reach out to me on
Twitter/Bluesky @RandallSlifer to let me know your thoughts on the movie!
