We are two Texas families...and baseball is our addiction life.

Hey! You're here because the same can probably be said of you. So welcome, pardner! We're about to tell you as much as you could possibly want to know about us...

We come from a military background (one family Army, the other Air Force). One of the things we've all missed since we re-entered civilian life (lo, these many years since kids were born) was the sense of camaraderie we shared with all other service members - a close bond with other folks who shared our all-consuming lifestyle.

Well, we've since re-discovered that sense of camaraderie with folks just like you! Families who are just as absorbed and consumed as we are with a life of baseball. Think about it...it really makes sense: we spend many longs hours together at practices, games, and on the road. We dine together as often as not, and boys are cheerfully passed between households when schedules get too hectic.

We share mind-numbing tension during championship games, butt-numbing days on bleacher seats, the hand-numbing frenzy of victory, and the soul-numbing tragedy of defeat. Best of all, we share this most glorious time in our son's lives - their development as athletes and sportsmen, their maturation into young men, and the evolution of their character - together.

But sadly, just like military families move on, so do baseball families. It's hard work staying in touch, and keeping up with former teammates. Sure, email helps, and we love getting updates on the accomplishments of our friends. But it's not the same as being there.

So, out of our own need for a better way to stay in touch, we decided to build the next-best-thing-to-being-there: an online community built to accommodate everything baseball. A place where we can post about our sons' exploits - complete with photos and video - so that our friends and family can keep up with our goin's-on. A place to gather and share ideas, vents, opinions with other families living the same lifestyle. We wanted an online "home" to showcase it all and invite our friends and family to. And...make new friends, of course.

There's nothing like this online - that we've found after countless fruitless searches (and our Google-fu is strong, people...very strong). So we figured, "Why not?" And then... we heard those magic words...

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.

Yes, yes we did. Heard it plain as day.

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Anyways...

Of course, the whole concept - like everything else in our frenetic lives - has taken on a life of its own! We started thinking,"Hey, what a great way for ballplayers to showcase their skills for prospective coaches and scouts." And "Let's make it so that kids can have a safe online presence without the dangers and pitfalls of MySpace or the like." Also, "Let's write articles and editorials and interviews - put all that schoolin' to work." Then someone said, "What about sharing opinions? Inquiring minds want to know!" Which was followed by a shout of, "INFORMATION IS POWER MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ok, not really on that last part - but you get the idea.

So, anyway, that's us in a nutshell. Literally - nuts. (We're not that freaky, don't worry - even if we did just quote a line from Field of Dreams in utter seriousness.)

We love our boys, we love our country, and we love the sheer magic of our nation's Greatest Pastime. Put it all together with good American folk like you and we are happier than pigs in mud.

BaseballNation.US is built BY baseball families FOR baseball families. This is a family place - we are baseball moms and dads, just like you. It our greatest hope that this will become a thriving online "nation" devoted to this sport we all love.

So join us - and invite your teams, your friends, and your family, too. The only pre-requisite is that you love baseball.

~The Thiess Family and the Nevala Family

(Picture coming soon. You can't wait.)