Gave 'Em Hell

On the morning of the biggest game of the season, Dale Sveum scrawled a terse message to his men on the clubhouse chalkboard, Give 'em hell. And my oh my, a hell of a game it was. Me and my burly bud split our attention between the Brewers game on the computer to our left and the Mets game on TV to our right, nervously guzzling a twelve pack of Miller Lite. As the Brewers pulled out triumphant, we ran around the apartment, high-fiving each other, yelping in joy. Then we watched the Mets stumble into '08 oblivion, being effectively dismantled just like their beloved Shea soon.

I've never watched baseball this meaningful, this exciting. Wish I could have been at Miller Park, watching the final out of the Mets game with the Crew, standing in front of their dugout, with the 45,200-some-odd fans, the sound of corks popping in our head, knowing I'm going to call off work the next day. Still, running around the apartment like a nut, knowing I'll be watching a playoff game this week with an actual stake in it, tickled enough.

Wow!