It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Spring. A time when schoolkids get a week away from school to spend with their videogames, bikes and friends. A time when the trees blossom and the flowers bloom. A time when high heating bills end and a respite occurs before the cooling bills come. Christmas is paid for and New Years Resolutions are forgotten.

All of these things are nice. But two things annually happen in spring that are guaranteed to bring a smile to my face.

The Start of the Baseball Season and Wrestlemania.

As a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, opening day at Busch Stadium is a holiday in my family. Not a holiday to exchange presents or dress up for grandma during dinner, no, it's a holiday in the fact that it is a time when the family gets together, puts on a new ball cap and jersey and pigs out on snacks while watching fabulous athletes preforming in a way that few ever will be able to.

The start of a new season represents the hope that we all should have, the hope that everything will be better tomorrow, that there is always a chance that if we give it our all we can overcome any obstacles. That isn't to say that our team always wins or that we always win in our lives, but if we give it our best shot there is nothing to be ashamed of.

While Baseball Season is beginning, Wrestlemania is an end of sorts. While wrestling doesn't have a season such as Baseball, Football or Basketball; Wrestlemania has always been considered the end of the year gala such as the World Series, Superbowl and the NBA Playoffs. It is where feuds are settled, champions are crowned and legacies cemented.

Many people don't understand my fascination with the "sport" of professional wrestling. How I have been able to watch it for the past 26 years and follow it with the same passion that I follow the Cardinals in baseball. To me (and remember this is just my opinion), wrestling is the closest thing we have to the gods of myth and legend. For a few hours a week I can watch larger than life supermen battle each other in the ages old tradition of Good Vs. Evil, and no place is it bigger and more spectacular than Wrestlemania.

There have been moments that have been embedded into our pop culture, such as Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III. There have been moments that touched us such as the reunion of Randy Savage and Ms. Elizabeth at Wrestlemania VII. There have been moments that transcend the wrestling aspect of it and show that perseverance and dedication can pay off as Chris Benoit and the late Eddie Guerrero embraced each other after each had "won" their respective World Titles at Wrestlemania XX.

This year is poised to be no different as Shawn Michaels takes on John Cena, a match bridging the 80's and 90's generation with the new generation. The Undertaker takes his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania's up against Batista, another match pitting the older generation against the new generation. No matter who wins these matches, it's almost guaranteed that there will be something that will be remembered decades from now.

Spring is the time when rebirth is in full swing. No matter what the reason, and there are many of them, it is the most wonderful time of the year.