Spring: The time when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of … baseball.

Until recently, if you were a baseball fan at NIU you had to make do with televised Cubs and Sox games. But last year, the powers-that-be at NIU decided to drop the men’s gymnastics program and resurrect the baseball team.

As a result, NIU baseball fans now have the opportunity to see well-played quality baseball, if they go to Wrigley Field that is. After seeing the baseball squad drop its home-opening doubleheader Monday, some people might ask if it’s too late to bring back the gymnastics team.

The Huskies are only perfect in one respect: sixteen losses in sixteen games. But, to be fair, the team is extremely young, populated with walk-ons and freshmen.

A spot in the College World Series wasn’t expected right away, so NIU fans should be patient and supportive. NIU coach Joe “Spanky” McFarland appears to be building his program the right way.

One of the disappointments, however, of Monday’s home opener was the relatively low attendance (108). To help “Spanky” out, we humbly offer a few suggestions to increase attendance:

Get the old Comiskey Park’s exploding scoreboard and set it off everytime NIU has an errorless inning.

Instead of boring batting helmets, the Huskies should wear hockey masks like Jason in those Friday the 13th movies.

To get the Paperback Grotto crowd, “Spanky” should change his name to “Spankyou” and have leather-clad ball girls give a new meaning to the “seventh inning stretch.”

Victor E. Huskie-flavored hot dogs.