Kvelve's Comments: Spring brings sports renewal

A song has been stuck in my head lately, circulating around the bone dome and weaving in and out of the grey matter.

It is a happy song, something you’d expect to hear from the mouth of Mr. Rogers. 

And it goes like this... “take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd...”. 

It heralds not only the coming baseball/softball season, but perhaps more importantly, it is a harbinger of Spring weather in its many forms in Montana. 

Soon, with a Treasure State size grin on my face I will be in the stands of a local softball or baseball game, popcorn and can of pop at my side while the sunshine bakes away memories of yet another set of frozen shower pipes from months past. 

And sure, the “crack” of the bat has mostly been replaced by the “ping” of aluminum and horsehide, but it will be America’s game (forgive me football fans) on display right in front of me. 

Not only baseball in the great outdoors, but golf and the multi-faceted sport known as track and field.  And yup, tennis fans can get their outdoor kicks from the courts in Superior. 

This past Monday marked the beginning of the Montana High School sports season circa 2025. Runners to your marks, jumpers report to the padded pits, the shotgun blast or air horn means tee up the golf ball. 

And my favorite, “play ball” will echo across the baseball/softball diamonds. 

All that glitters is not necessarily gold. 

Track stars like Plains’ discus and shot-put thrower Lexi Deming will be working hard to add to their track medals storage bins. 

Who will be the standout golfer of note this season, perhaps one of the young linksters at Thompson Falls, Plains, St. Regis or Superior? 

I’m eagerly awaiting the first T Falls softball game of the season to see a glimpse or two of how good the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks softball team can be with the all-start littered roster they have. 

Will that talented and promising group of sophomores in Superior continue the recent years of Bobcats track and field success? 

One thing for sure about spring and other sports, all the teams are unbeaten before the first game. Whispers of potential medal winners morph into open conversations. 

Hope, like spring, springs eternal.   

As is always the case in Montana, especially in early spring, the weather will be a factor. The sunshine can turn to sideways snow around these parts in the blink of an eye. 

Last year, or maybe it was the year before, I was on my way to cover the State B-C track and field finals in Laurel toward the end of May. 

Snowstorms halted my travel first on the Butte Pass, and again just outside of Big Timber. But, as always happens, the clouds parted, the fields and grandstands were still there, and the sunshine was on my shoulders once again. 

Pass the popcorn and crack open another soda. 

It’s outdoor sports time.