Scene 1 -- Texas Rangers Stadium - Arlington, Texas

This opening scene is a fantasy, but the theme of baseball and George W. Bush's real love of the game is a thematic thread that runs through the movie.

When he was just a toddler, he was taken by his mother to the Yale baseball games, where his father, George H. W. Bush, just back from World War II, was the captain and slick-fielding first baseman for the Ivy League champion Yale teams of 1947-1948.

George W. Bush's uncle, Wall Street financier Herbert Walker, was one of the original owners of the New York Mets. In fact, George's dream of owning a baseball team was sparked when as a boy he attended games at Shea Stadium, where he sat in Uncle Herbie's box seats. (http://espn.go.com/mlb/bush/family.html)

Growing up in Midland, Texas, W played Little League baseball (in fact, he's the first President of the United States to have played in the Little League -- http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qgwb.shtml). He also set out to be a champion baseball card collector, sending cards to Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and scores of other major league to get their autographs. Later, when he was Governor of Texas, he displayed his collection of over 250 autographed baseballs in his office.

As an owner of the Texas Rangers, W was still the ultimate fan. He used to love to stroll the outfield and look around the stadium, feeling a fierce pride of accomplishment. "My own personal field of dreams," he called it ("The Faith of George W. Bush" by Stephen Mansfield, p. 92).

"I never dreamed about being President, I wanted to be Willie Mays." (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_qgwb.shtml)