Vote for the name. Choose your favorite or the one that fits justice!

A. Ryan DEmpster.

B. Ryan DUmpster.

It's a Chicago thing, so vote early, vote often!!

Come ON, Cubs. Millions of fans agonize over Every. Pitch. And. Swing. Of. The. Bat. GO CUBS!!!

 

Another Healthy Dose of Perspective (tho' in this case it's strictly frivolous)

Superbowl. New England Patriots v. New York Giants.

I have no emotional attachment to either team. None. Nor have I ever, and it's likely not to change in any time that I can foresee. (Well, disclaimer: I've rooted for the Giants in the Superbowl before, but only because I had a boyfriend in Montclair, NJ. That was a looooooong while ago.)

So why watch?

Eh. The commercials... The social time with friends and acquaintances that slips away during the rest of the week, and we joyfully embrace at times like these... The chance that this year, MAYBE, the game might *just* be an actual championship-level performance... Ordinarily the last is just wishful dreaming.

This year, there were some rather entertaining ads.

The game itself?

Defense! Amazingly, BOTH teams brought their defensive teams and coordinators! Awe flooded the stadium and the party we attended. What a performance.

Originally, I thought I would have been satisfied with seeing the record broken. Ordinarily, I root for the underdog. So going into the game, I was conflicted about who I would find as my champion. Frankly, I never did choose. It was alien, feeling ambivalent about a national championship game in such a pivotal sport!

It was only late in the afternoon TODAY that I resolved my feelings.

I love that the Giants won. It makes up for my beloved Indians' loss to the Red Sox earlier this Autumn, even if ever so slightly.

And on a side note: one Giant's fan had the temerity to describe his team's position as a "David and Goliath story", and the Giants were in the "David" role. I adored the irony. That endeared the Giants to me even more!!

 

Fortifications

This game is SO scary.

The big glass is 32 oz. of Great Lakes Brewing Co. Dortmunder. The smaller, fuller glass was just delivered, and has a remarkably delicious stout called a 'milk stout' that just about a-l-m-o-s-t makes up for how the game is going by how orgasmically good this beer is. Seriously. This is good beer. And this game is a complete bunmmer.

BCS MADNESS-GOT BRUTUS??!

It's GAMETIME. We dine in a veritable OCEAN of Scarlet And Gray. When I say, "O H!", you say, "I O!"! YOU know what I'm saying! GO BUCKS!!!

ALCS Game 4 Tribe v Boston

Every game of every playoff series becomes personal to every fan. My Mom is memorialized in Heritage Park in Jacobs Field, a place where the greats of the Indians organization are permanently ensconced in plaques, statues, and one memorial (see yesterday's post, "Boy of Summer Past, Present?"). Family dedications help us remember that this time spent at the ballpark is a family pastime shared. As sure as I am that my mom is in Heaven, watching and pulling whatever supernatural strings she can to help the Tribe, there are thousands of Boston fans believing their family members on The Other Side are doing the same. What my mom instilled in me is a love of the game and strong feelings about sportsmanlike conduct. I hope (against hope) that tonight's game will be played without "Manny sucks!" and "Boston sucks!" hollered, because clearly neither is true; also, both are abhorently vulgar and unneccesary. Last night's game was delightful because the crowd yelled favorable things boosting our players: "Ken-NY! Ken-NY!" and "Let's Go Joe!" I was absolutely tickled by the profound positiveness. There was no boo-ing (no real reason for it, either). THIS I can believe my mother would be behind! Go Mom!! Beat unsportsmanlike fans! Go Tribe!! Beat Boston!

What Time Is It?

It was worth missing Chuck and Heroes for some real life action on the diamond. I wish everyone could have been here. Just SO much fun.

Welcome Home Kenny

Kenny Lofton just returned to left field. The crowd around us is going berserk--berserk to a greater degree than usual--because he hit a 1st pitch 2-run home run last inning. Post season play ROCKS. Especially being here. This means *so much* to Cleveland. (The picture was taken before the game began. Things are too exciting to get a meaningful picture of anything near us or on the field.) (Late note: this post should actually be between "I SO Live For This!" and "Boy of Summer Past, Present?", but it somehow didn't get posted until Tuesday. Probably a battery power issue. Having forgotten to rejuice for the past 3 days, I watched with dismay the rapidly dwindling power icon as the evening progressed.)

Game Detail Replay

We're taking Sean home after the game now. So much to replay! I was thinking of a couple from Bradford, PA interviewed on WTAM as I drove to meet Rick and Sean. He (of the couple) was a Tribe fan, she was a Bosox fan. Both wore clothes to proclaim fealty. They had a sign to the effects of 'we're NOT talking!'. In the interview they admitted that yes, they were dating, and no, there's no future commitment, other than ONE of them will be talking on their long drive home. At the ticket gate, I happened upon this very charming woman, another Boston fan, with such a completely creative outfit! Wow. THAT is a fan with style. On closer inspection, as busy as the detail was, there was absolutely *nothing* chintzy or half-done about any of it. Just spectacular! In case you can't tell, the hat has an entire baseball diamond on it, complete with players, and the sides are covered with small batting helmets. Her jacket was hand-painted and embellished, celbrating the Bosox miraculous World Series win in '04. I'm hoping we get to have an explosion of creativity like that here. There's just so much to soak up about playoff season. It's a whole nother ball game!

Let's Go Joe!

...and he WENT! 3 straight outs without a hit or walk! Tribe WINS! Woo Hoo, Wahoo! That's the way to do it. Now let's do it again tomorrow. Hopefully with a lead great enough we won't need closer Joe Borowski... That's him, by the way, on the JumboTron, in the post-game interview. No rally pie today. We were never behind in the score.

I SO Live For This!

This is my beloved telling me I'm missing the game. I don't know what he's talking about. It's 4-2, Tribe, Youkilis just K'd for the first out. And since my thumb isn't fast enough: Manny's up due to Ortiz's fly to right. The count is 0 and 2 with Betancourt on the mound- make that 1 and 2. Whoo! Popped to Cabrera! WE GO TO THE 8TH!

Boy of Summer Past, Present?

Ray Chapman memorial. He was killed in 1920, midgame, when nailed by a linedrive. They found the memorial when they tore down the old Muny Stadium some years back, but only just gave it a permanent place this summer with the dedication of Heritage Park. There's a delightful rumor that he's been behind a lot of the um... well, remarkable things that have happened around here. (HEY! Trot Nixon's starting. See? Someone grew a brain: start an exSox vs the Sox. Remarkable.) So he's been getting a bit more coverage than usual, even pilgrimages to his grave in Lakeview Cemetary. And so begins an interesting homestand. Go Tribe! It's Tribe Time Now! (And Michigan still sucks, but that's another post!) By the way, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels the spirit of Ray Chapman is welcome in Jacobs Field.