I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan. My cubicle at work is a sea of red. My apartment is cluttered with baseball tchotchkes, pennants and programs. My closets are full of Cardinals jerseys, T-shirts and jackets, and baseball print-fabric skirts and dresses.

My summer trips are built around attending a major or minor league game. One of my sisters and I are trying to visit every major league ballpark someday. I'm at 17, and we plan to visit three more this summer, along with some more minor league parks.

I'm also a big fan of the UNC baseball team and attend nearly every home game, even in the chill of February. I, sadly, will probably not get to any games this year, since I don't drive and the Heels will play in Cary during the renovation of Boshamer Stadium. But I will follow them on radio, and I listen to at least part of every Cardinals game online.

I'll watch just about any game I can find on TV. I also try to get to a couple of Durham Bulls games each season, and maybe a Greensboro Grasshoppers and Burlington Royals game.

Every year I make Opening Day cookies for my co-workers -- sugar cookies shaped like baseballs, bats, caps and/or jerseys. It's my favorite holiday. And my favorite quote, from Rogers Hornsby: "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

--Elena Elms, Chapel Hill