Here’s the thing about Universal Pictures’ "Field of Dreams" that made it so unique to its time, and why it has held up as a beloved American classic in the three decades-plus since its release in April of 1989: you didn’t have to be a baseball fan to appreciate it.
This movie touched a nerve in millions of viewers, for all kinds of reasons. Many related to Ray Kinsella’s complicated relationship with his father, John, and were fully invested until the very end -- when a moving final scene suggested healing and a renewed understanding between the two men. Others delighted in the sheer historical nature of the film, which reexamined the 1919 Black Sox and the characters that were part of such a thorny segment of baseball history.
And then there were the millions of viewers who simply love baseball, love baseball movies and found Kevin Costner’s character relatable -- a young man raising a family, in search of a little something more in his life, pursuing a dream even at the admonishment of those closest to him.
And who doesn’t want to live in a world where everything works out in the end?
One of the most famous lines of the movie comes as an exchange between “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and Kinsella. Jackson asks Kinsella, “Is this heaven?” To which Kinsella answers, “No, it’s Iowa.”
Thirty-two years later, that little spot of land in Dyersville, Iowa, is still considered a slice of baseball heaven. So much that Major League Baseball staged a regular-season game between the Yankees and White Sox, two of the game’s most historic franchises (and the two favorite teams of John Kinsella, at different points in his life) on the very spot the movie was filmed. Who knew a farmhouse and acres of cornfields would have such an effect on the masses?
In the movie, a mysterious voice whispered, “If you build it, he will come.” Kinsella followed that suggestion, unsure what would be waiting for him when he finished. This time around, MLB didn’t have any doubts -- they built it, and the fans are here -- in droves.
The 8,000-seat venue includes a pathway through a cornfield guiding fans directly to the ballpark, which overlooks the famous movie location. Players are to enter the field from right field, through a removeable section of a 16-foot fence.
It will very much have the same feel as the movie, where the ballplayers emerged from the cornfields to take in the Field of Dreams. And isn’t that the point?
Like the film itself, select quotes have also stood the test of time. Consider this soliloquy from Terence Mann (played by James Earl Jones) -- which, given the events of the past year-plus, is still chillingly poignant:
“People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again.
“But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh … people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”
There may be no better sign that life is returning to normal than gathering a group of baseball fans for a night of baseball and nostalgia -- and, as a bonus, the game is not an exhibition. This matchup between the Yankees and White Sox will count in the standings. And it will be played in a section of the country that doesn’t normally have Major League Baseball played in its backyard.
Which brings us to another scene in "Field of Dreams" -- one that might not be as time-tested as the others, but still reminds us why we love baseball: It’s the simple things.
Kinsella: “So, what do you want?”
Mann: “I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.”
Kinsella: “No, I mean, what do you WANT?”
Mann: “Oh. Dog and a beer.”
Now, anyone want to have a catch?