I'll preface this post by stating up front. I am a bandwagon baseball fan. I admit it. I don't pay too much attention until the post season. Then it only really grabs my attention if the Cardinals are playing or if in the even more rare instance...the Cubs. In my defense let it be known that when I was a kid in the 80's I cheered for the Cubs. Mostly I think because my dad is a Cardinals fan and I wanted to play the antagonist. I also cheered for Magic and the Lakers versus Dad's Celtics and Larry Bird, but I digress. I owned a Cubs shirt which I ironically purchased at a Busch Stadium Cardinal's game. I cheered for Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, and my favorite player, catcher Jody Davis. I think I just liked the fact that the guy was named Jody.
Fast forward several decades. Last night you would have found this bandwagon Cubs fan cheering just as loud as any die hard. With everything on the line and the Cubs starting to blow things open, I told Dusty that it would be fun to be watching this at Shelby and Jen Smith's house. Shelby is a life long, die-hard Cubs fan. He's had to endure a lot of teasing, some of which I will admit came from me. Shelby is how shall we say....very demonstrative. So I could image the excitement level at their house. I shot Jen a text.
Now I'm sure when she replied at 9:30 at night she didn't realize that I would grab my keys and drive straight to her house without telling her, but since I like an adventure and fun that's what I did. I was greeted at the door by a confused looking Logan..."I think it's Ms. Heidi?!?" Followed quickly by a bunch of cheering because the Cubs were still scoring. I was offered a nice spot on the couch. No seating needed for Shelby because he spent the entire game like this...
And for the next few hours the Cubbies and Shelby took us on an emotional roller coaster!
There was cheering, yelling in disbelief, muttered "C'mon"s, and pacing. We had Facetiming with Jen's family in California and Facebook postings between the innings. It appeared to be moving to a Cubs win....and then the bottom of the 8th hit! Total momentum shift. Cue increased pacing. By the time we had survived to the end of the 9th I think there was a path worn in the rug. It's midnight by this point but I was determined to see it through to the end. Then the tarp came out. Tied...extra innings...rain delay! I considered if I should head home, but knew I'd regret it if I left and missed out on a Cubs win. The radar in Cleveland indicated it would be a short shower. We used the time to psyche ourselves up. I told Logan that it's a new start and we've got one inning for it all. Top of the 10th did not disappoint. Screaming and cheering ensued. We hit the Cleveland at bats and started counting down the outs. They scored....ugh! Even though there's 2 outs you have the sobering thought that it all hinges on a swing of the bat. Strike and the Cubs have done the impossible; home run and the game does a 180 and the Cubs come up empty handed. Needless to say everyone's on edge. As the 3rd baseman scooped up the last hit with a huge grin on his face and tossed it to 1st the room exploded. Time to bring out the "W" flag and party!
This 8th grader was going to be tired in the morning!
And I think Jen and I need some work on our "W" but hey, it was late.
What a ton of fun! Made even better by experiencing the pure joy of the people around you. Thanks Shelby and Jen for letting a friend crash your house and enjoy an unforgettable moment!
