Thomas Friedman said the world was flat.
My aunt said it’s a small world and my uncle replied he wouldn’t want to paint it.
I guess, in a way, they’re all right. The world is getting smaller and flatter. People are making connections over distances never before imagined. I learned how true this was just the other day. And yes, it involves sports.
About a year ago, I was looking through a list of Red Sox prospects. At the top of that list was a Texan named Will Middlebrooks. Just for kicks I typed old Willy’s name into Facebook, knowing full-well that being like any other high schooler, he’d have a page. And low-and-behold there he was, so I friended him.
Having forgotten about my internet escapades, I check my email the next day and an email greeted me: “Will Middlebrooks has confirmed you as a friend on Faceook.”
What a glorious day.
And while I know I’m not the first sports-crazed person to friend an up-and-coming star on the internet, I might be first one to ever experience what happened next.
As the next year progressed, I kept an eye on Middlebrooks’ ever-changing status. Every city he traveled to, ever game he played was documented in this somewhat taken for granted medium.
But beyond wins and losses, hits and home runs, I saw a more human side of Middlebrooks. I saw what it was like, as corny as it sounds, for a 19-year old to go through the rigors of playing professional baseball.
What rigors? You may ask.
Well…try being away from your girlfriend, your parents, your family, your hometown. Try being one of the few kids in your group of friends who doesn’t go on to college. It’s hard stuff.
And so everyday I watched to see what was going on in this kids life. After all, we were friends and it was okay.
But just a few weeks ago as Middlebrooks was leading the Red Sox Single-A affiliate the Lowell Spinners through the playoffs I conjured up the gusto to write on his wall.
“Maine loves Middlebrooks,” I wrote, cleverly.
I didn’t think much of it.
I moved on to stalking someone else while time permitted.
But all of a sudden a grand thing happened. The lower part of my screen started blinking rapidly. It was Will. He wanted to talk.
“Middlebrooks loves Maine,” he wrote.
We chatted for a couple minutes, sharing pleasantries and talking about the Red Sox. I told him he should let me know when he got promoted to Portland because I’d come watch him play.
And I know most of you don’t know who Will Middlebrooks is or care about what he’s doing. But the fact of the matter is that someday he’ll be playing in the Big Leagues – maybe not with the Red Sox – but someday the kid I talked to over Facebook will be signing autographs and making millions, a notion that even ten years ago would have seemed foreign. Things taken for granted everyday, like Facebook, are breaking down old barriers and putting us closer to people than we ever thought possible.
As we approach Columbus Day and laugh at the naiveté of 15th Century explorers for thinking the world was flat, maybe we should take a second to think about just how right they were. But I still wouldn’t want to paint the world.