Best birthday present ever
This beats the Armitron digital watch I got on my 8th birthday. Or the copy of Zork and a raise in my allowance on my 13th. Or puking in the toilet at my grandparents house on the 21st. This beats all.
I'm not ashamed to admit I cried real, joyful tears. I lay in bed last night (when I could finally pull myself away from the TV) and laughed. I was wrong to think that a victory couldn't make up for the embarassment of game 5. I was wrong to think that there was almost no way this team could pull it together after that. I love being wrong.
This makes up for Monday night, and it makes up for...
...the heartbreak of 1986. I would go back in time and console 14-year-old Reid and tell him that the Astros would make it to the World Series one day, but I know that his reaction would be, "Two thousand and FIVE?!!"
...the mediocre years of the early '90's. It still doesn't feel like their records were as good as they were.
...the sweep by the Braves in 1997 NLDS. Why did they even bother?
...ruining the only time they've cleared the 100-victory mark, losing to the Padres, in spite of (or because of?) acquiring Randy Johnson. I will say that watching Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown come in as relievers in the same game was one of my greatest baseball memories, though. But still, watching that game at Top of the Hill (alone, as I do almost all Astros playoff games, whether I want to or not) after work all by myself, shaking my head in disbelief...I swore, like I do at the end of almost every season, that I was done being an Astros fan, and that was the time more than any other that I believed it most.
...1999, when I stayed late at work one Friday night to listen to Game 1 against the Braves on internet radio (back when you could still get it for free) and jumped all around the empty office when the Astros won game one...only to lose the next three.
...2001, when they were swept by the Braves again.
...last year, when they thrilled me by finally winning a post-season series, so it's not too much to make up for, but it still killed me to be within one game of the World Series and then not be able to finish it off. And to add insult to injury, I got dumped two days later.
This is the greatest. I've been waiting since 1982 for this day. I know that every sports fan feels that their team blows it more than any other, but Houston sports has been a heartbreaking thing to have in my life, a feeling I can share with other Houston sports fans, and something at least Jayson Stark understands. If the Astros win the World Series, I will GLADLY give up any claim to having a heartbreaking team, any part of any argument about teams that blow it or can never win the big one. Hell, I'll go ahead and give it up that claim now.
The Astros are in the World Series! I will now spend the rest of the day typing that over and over and over again, with my smile growing bigger each time.
5 comments:
You barfed at your grandparents' house??
I don't know what it is, Paul, but it's something that a lot of Houston fans (I know it's just as bad if not worse in Cleveland) feel: it's that pessimism of, "I know they're going to let us down in the worst way possible." And there's precendent for it. So here we were, getting all excited for the team that has been so frustrating for so many years, that they're finally going to pull it out, and they blow it just like we all thought they would.
And the embarrassing part is that it wasn't just a little come-from-behind with a run here and a run there and the next thing you know, the other team has taken the lead. That homerun was a slap in the face, just at the moment when everyone was about to explode with excitement.
I'm so thankful that it just ended up being a footnote instead of a turning point. But I hadn't felt that low about sports since January 3, 1993.
Here's the story, Megarita: My birthday always fell on our Fall Break, but I wanted to make sure that I was able to celebrate my 21st birthday with my twin sister, so I stayed at my grandparents house and went out with my sister and her friends. One of her friends had decided that everyone should puke on their 21st birthday, so they liquored me up good and then sent me back to my grandparents place, where I tiptoed in late at night, vomited discreetly, and went to bed.
Happy Birthday!
Happy (Belated) Birthday!
That is a great present. I've been pulling for Houston since the start of the playoffs...not a lifelong fan obviously, but they're a team I've generally respected over the years. I have to say though that seeing Biggio and Bagwell after game 6 was one of the best sports moments I've ever seen. It just seemed to embody all the good things about pro sports, and what pro sports should be about.
Game 5 turned out to be inconsequential, but I agree with Paul. Heartbreaking, yes. Disappointing, yes. Embarrassing, no. One of the best hitters in the game hit a one in a million shot. The ball didn't roll through the first baseman's legs, and a 12 year old kid with a fishing net didn't reach over and change an out into a home run. It was just honest baseball. Lidge honorably took responsbility even though it wasn't really a horrible pitch, and the team didn't let it phase them. Losing the next two games would have been embarrassing, but not that home run. It may even make Lidge stronger in the Series.
Agreed about Biggio and Bagwell - I don't follow baseball all that much, but I've always really liked those guys - I'll be pulling for them.
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