PGP-PNCFLAG-09A giant U.S. flag is unfurled on the outfield at PNC Park as part of the Opening Day ceremonies April 8, 2002. Philip G. Pavely / Tribune-Review If you know me, you know that baseball holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it's because I grew up in Cincinnati during the Big Red Machine days. Maybe it's because my mom went to high school with Pete Rose. Maybe it's because baseball is just a fun game to play.

I attended my first Opening Day in Cincinnati as a high school teenager with a reporters credential from the Delaware Gazette to cover the Reds in 1987. Being in Pete Rose's office for the post-game definitely put a bug in the career path I would take. As a kid, it was a dream come true to hear "Charlie Hustle" pontificate about the game from his office in Riverfront Stadium.

Fast forward several years and I was still getting credentialed to cover Opening Day. Whether it was Three Rivers Stadium or PNC Park, I was always thrilled when the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review or USA Today assigned me to photograph Opening Day. It was a joyous day, kind of like a holiday.

Today the Pirates should be starting the season at PNC Park. Instead, we are all at our homes wondering when the game will be played again. 

Photo: Philip G. Pavely / Tribune-Review during Opening Day April 8, 2002