Sit down and watch any live baseball game and you can’t help but smile.

Perhaps it’s because, unlike baseball’s major-sport rivals, football and basketball, the outcome of the game isn’t always as important.

Little League and tee-ball coaches had it figured out when they used to say the game was “all about fun.”

Of course, those were the days when every game was declared a tie – NIU’s baseball team hasn’t had such luck.

But even though the Huskies have gotten off to a sluggish, often frustratingly painful 6-16 start, there’s still good news for NIU fans.

And that’s why baseball is so uniquely great: fans can enjoy the sport’s less competitive qualities.

Baseball means warm weather, the ping of an aluminum bat to the ball, the pop of a catcher’s mitt and most entertaining of all -the ridiculous baseball fan jargon.

After hearing one boisterous fan yell “Come on now, 1-2, give it a rip now – c’mon kid!” in a tone distinctly baseball, who could resist a chuckle, even if the Huskies just gave up 12 runs in two error-ridden innings?

Even in the midst of Ball State’s disheartening two-inning comeback Sunday, there was always something to smile about, even if it was the crowd’s antics.

Other sports have their loud, heckling fans, but football fans weren’t yelling, “C’mon now, see the ball now, get yer pass” to wide receiver Dan Sheldon in the fall.

Basketball fans weren’t crying, “Come on, 2-2, set yer pick now, see yer passing lane” to guard Cory Sims.

The oddity of baseball doesn’t end with the offbeat dialogue. Managers wear uniforms and use choppy hand signals; players chew sunflower seeds and meticulously hold to superstitious repetition.

Running back Garrett Wolfe might get a sideways glance if he rubbed pine tar on his football helmet, but if NIU center fielder Jeremy Busch did the same, it’s just baseball.

The game in general – from the fans, to the coaches to the field itself – is a wacky anomaly. Perhaps this is because of the game’s romanticism. Take the lush baseball history out of movies like “Field of Dreams” and you’re left with a cliché sports movie.

Baseball can get away with its quirks because it’s one of the oldest and perhaps most American of all sports, and the result of all the chewing, spitting and popping is the gritty, dirty, scruffy tradition that is baseball.

So even though the bleachers aren’t too comfortable, the fans are a bit annoying at times and the NIU team has seen its share of tough losses, there’s still something to smile about.

It’s still baseball.