The biggest nerd in the world is going to the Championship Series
It used to be -- if 1980s movies are any guide -- the jocks, the geeks, the popular kids, the nerds and the freaks. Each were expected to keep to their own lunch table.
That is no longer true. We now live in a world of endlessly mixed subcultures. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a billion dollar franchise. Billie Eilish has made goth cool for every teenager in the world. And Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle, ostensibly a jock, is also the biggest nerd you'll ever see.
At a time when you would expect players to be as tight and stressed as possible, Doolittle arrived at the stadium with his lightsaber in tow. When the game was over and the Nationals had emerged victorious after a thrilling, heart-stopping comeback against the Dodgers, Doolittle partied with his toy. Sorry, his accurate, lifesize replica lightsaber.
The force is strong with @whatwouldDOOdo. pic.twitter.com/5cr7fCqWoT
— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 2, 2019
Yes, that's a man in his element. Minutes after closing out the 10th inning to give the Nationals the series win, here is Doolittle celebrating in the clubhouse by battling a bottle of beer with his laser sword.
He went on the field to get a photo with his wife, Eireann Dolan, and snapped the dorkiest photo possible when celebrating a postseason achievement. There, in the middle of Dodger Stadium, wearing slides and board shorts like some kind of college student just emerging from bed, he posed with the lightsaber.
It's beautiful and funny and kind of perfect:
I’m so proud of my pale-legged husband pic.twitter.com/ZIDMgvmI40
— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) October 10, 2019
Of course, none of this is new. Doolittle is such a huge "Star Wars" fan that he got an Obi-Sean bobblehead earlier this year:
JUNE 15 IS STAR WARS DAY AT NATS PARK COME OUT TO THE GAME AND GET AN OBI SEAN KENOBI BOBBLEHEAD pic.twitter.com/cX6OwT1zwH
— Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) April 29, 2019
And Doolittle and Dolan have put on their costumes to attend "Star Wars" films:
Can't wait to see In the Heart of the Sea tonight!!! pic.twitter.com/bsOgjWv7bL
— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) December 18, 2015
There is no such thing as a nerd anymore. There is no such thing as jocks. There's just people going out there and having the time of their lives.
Michael Clair writes for MLB.com. He spends a lot of time thinking about walk-up music and believes stirrup socks are an integral part of every formal outfit.
