Opening Day is circled on my calendar the moment my 7 Line Army calendar arrives every December.

It's one of the few days a year where pure optimism wins. The standings are blank. The injuries haven't piled up. The linkedin.com/feed?highl… haven't broken my heart yet.

And for a few hours, we're ALL in first place.

Growing up, I listened to games on a junky clock radio next to my bed. WFAN came in loud and clear. That was my connection to the team... a voice through a speaker in the dark.

In the summers of 1999 and 2000, I got an internship with the Mets PR department. I worked games in the radio booth alongside Bob Murphy, and supported TV with a young Howie Rose before SNY even existed.

Howie has been the voice of the Mets ever since. His calls are woven into almost 30 years of this franchise's history. The highs, the lows, and everything in between.

This year will be his last.

I cancelled cable a while back, so I don't have SNY anymore. But this season, that feels less like a loss and more like a gift. I'll be listening to as many games as possible on Mets Radio or the Audacy app.

One final season. Howie's voice. The way it was always meant to sound.

Some things are worth going back to the beginning for.