It is perhaps the most celebrated movie line among baseball aficionados; a soliloquoy of sorts that encapsulates everything from love to sex to drinking to passion and, of course, America's national pastime.
"Well, I believe in the soul...the small of a woman's back, the hangingcurveball, high fiber, good scotch...that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, I believe there ought to be a Constitutional amendment outlawing astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft core pornography, opening your presents on Christmas morning rather than on Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three nights."
It was delivered by one Crash Davis (played by Kevin Costner), in the film that Sports Illustrated recently tabbed as the best sports movie of all time, Bull Durham. It was this movie that propelled the Bulls to national fame, making the ballclub the most recognizable minor league franchise in all of American sport.
The farm team for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Bulls have deep roots with Duke University, and their games have become a community event as they bring people together from all walks, balks and runs of life.
The Bulls, which won their first-ever International League (triple A) championship last season, are in the midst of their 101st season of playing ball. Founded in 1902 and originally called the Durham Tobacconists, the squad actually played its first game against Trinity College, which later evolved into Duke. The Tobacconists won the exhibition game, 8-5.
The ba;;c;ib disbanded until 1912 when it joined the North Carolina State League, and played its first game as the "Durham Bulls" on the Trinity College Campus, which is now the site of Duke's East Campus.
In the years that would follow, the team's popularity grew slowly--that is until the Bulls began cashing in after the success of Bull Durham in 1988.
The Bulls moved into their new ballpark in 1995 in front of 10,000 fans, a number which instigated an expansion of the stadium which was completed in 1998. The edifice is a diamond in the rough of sorts in Durham, made all the more enamored because of the recent success of the Bulls, and because of the mid-inning contests that involve and entertain fans of all ages.
Currently, the Bulls are well on their way to defending their AAA Championship, as they are three games up in the South Division with a 68-60 ledger.
And even if the Bulls weren't competitive, games would still be enjoyable, because of the welcoming and entertaining atmosphere that has become the norm in minor league baseball.
And if anything else, a fan can always pass the time at the ballpark reciting lines from the movie.
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