(no subject)
A week ago today, I went to see the Rockies play in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies.
I had watched the previous night's game on television after opting out of going to the playoff game, which turned out to be, by far, the coldest playoff game ever in the MLB. It made everyone remember why people laughed at Denver when they decided to get an expansion baseball team. The game was incredibly close -- 6-5, not even clear until the ninth inning -- and full of hits, close moments, and excitement -- all on the backdrop of some very very cold looking baseball players.
So the Rockies were down 2-1 in the series. The Monday night game was do-or-die. However, I went into it feeling pretty good. The 2009 Rockies are (were) great at coming back from the underdog position (Spilly's walk-off grand slam, anyone?!) so I was in high spirits. I saw the game with Edward, Nathan, and Ryan C. It was my first playoff game ever (sadly I was in England during the original Rocktober).
We were sitting incredibly high up in the stands, but we were happy -- as were the people around us (except for the two old rich-looking people who told us to sit down when we were standing for really important plays) -- and we had the free rally towels that were given to us as we walked into the stadium. Little did I know then that those towels could also be used to wipe away tears of infinite sadness.
The night wasn't too cold. The umps made some very bad calls against the Rockies early on in the game -- including calling someone safe who was very clearly out -- and added on to the not-seen-by-the-umps foul ball that set up the winning run of the game the day before, everyone seemed a bit subdued. Some huge strike outs by Jiminez, our very own Obama-lookalike, got us up on our feet again. Also it was nice to move and be warm (though I must say that it was not really very cold... I didn't even bother to zip up my ski jacket until the seventh inning).
The atmosphere in the stadium was really fun. My favorite part was singing "God Bless America" and cheering at the part about the mountains (though Edward seemed kind of alienated by that whole experience... sorry English dude!). They introduced a chant for "Rock-tober" that had a nice picture of a mountain on the screen behind it but that unfortunately went at a weird pace and no one could quite get into it.
Something that a lot of people have noted before me is that, because the baseball season is so long and there are so many games, it's easy to start feeling like you know the players really well and to root for them individually. I got incredibly emotionally invested in the 2009 team, partly I think because I watched so many of the games from England and then came home at the culmination of their season. They were so inspiring, coming back from an enormous deficit to almost seize the NL West and to make the playoffs as the NL wild card easily. And the players all seemed so fantastic, like genuinely good guys who care about their town and their game and their fans.
By the time we got to the 8th inning, the Rockies were down, but they had men on base and it was possible to take the lead. I won't recap the game because if you care, you already know what happened, and if you don't, your eyes are about to glaze over. Let's just say that Torrealba, who has been one of my favorite players this season, hit a double that drove in two runs, and suddenly the Rockies were in the lead. Torrealba wound up on second base doing a fist pump and the crowd was going insane. We could see the win -- there was only one inning left. And we were freaking out, all 50,000 of us, a big collective towel waving and cheering. It felt amazing.
And then of course the top of the ninth inning, two outs, two strikes, Street on the mound. I had Ed poised with the camera to take a picture of the Rockies celebrating on the field. And then, with two pitches, the Phillies tied it. Then they took the lead. I just sat down in my seat and had to shut my eyes. Ed put down the camera. And then we lost, and our post-season ended, and we all shuffled out into Lodo in a kind of silent contemplation. I know I was in a trance. I couldn't believe that it had ended just like that, with one strike all that was missing from us winning the game.
In the past week, I've left Denver again, and come back to England, where the sun hasn't been out since I landed and the days are dramatically shorter than when I left. Nothing feels like summer ending like the end of the Rockies' season. The playoffs are about big East and West Coast teams who I don't care about and winter is coming.
But I'm getting optimistic for summer 2010......
I had watched the previous night's game on television after opting out of going to the playoff game, which turned out to be, by far, the coldest playoff game ever in the MLB. It made everyone remember why people laughed at Denver when they decided to get an expansion baseball team. The game was incredibly close -- 6-5, not even clear until the ninth inning -- and full of hits, close moments, and excitement -- all on the backdrop of some very very cold looking baseball players.
So the Rockies were down 2-1 in the series. The Monday night game was do-or-die. However, I went into it feeling pretty good. The 2009 Rockies are (were) great at coming back from the underdog position (Spilly's walk-off grand slam, anyone?!) so I was in high spirits. I saw the game with Edward, Nathan, and Ryan C. It was my first playoff game ever (sadly I was in England during the original Rocktober).
We were sitting incredibly high up in the stands, but we were happy -- as were the people around us (except for the two old rich-looking people who told us to sit down when we were standing for really important plays) -- and we had the free rally towels that were given to us as we walked into the stadium. Little did I know then that those towels could also be used to wipe away tears of infinite sadness.
The night wasn't too cold. The umps made some very bad calls against the Rockies early on in the game -- including calling someone safe who was very clearly out -- and added on to the not-seen-by-the-umps foul ball that set up the winning run of the game the day before, everyone seemed a bit subdued. Some huge strike outs by Jiminez, our very own Obama-lookalike, got us up on our feet again. Also it was nice to move and be warm (though I must say that it was not really very cold... I didn't even bother to zip up my ski jacket until the seventh inning).
The atmosphere in the stadium was really fun. My favorite part was singing "God Bless America" and cheering at the part about the mountains (though Edward seemed kind of alienated by that whole experience... sorry English dude!). They introduced a chant for "Rock-tober" that had a nice picture of a mountain on the screen behind it but that unfortunately went at a weird pace and no one could quite get into it.
Something that a lot of people have noted before me is that, because the baseball season is so long and there are so many games, it's easy to start feeling like you know the players really well and to root for them individually. I got incredibly emotionally invested in the 2009 team, partly I think because I watched so many of the games from England and then came home at the culmination of their season. They were so inspiring, coming back from an enormous deficit to almost seize the NL West and to make the playoffs as the NL wild card easily. And the players all seemed so fantastic, like genuinely good guys who care about their town and their game and their fans.
By the time we got to the 8th inning, the Rockies were down, but they had men on base and it was possible to take the lead. I won't recap the game because if you care, you already know what happened, and if you don't, your eyes are about to glaze over. Let's just say that Torrealba, who has been one of my favorite players this season, hit a double that drove in two runs, and suddenly the Rockies were in the lead. Torrealba wound up on second base doing a fist pump and the crowd was going insane. We could see the win -- there was only one inning left. And we were freaking out, all 50,000 of us, a big collective towel waving and cheering. It felt amazing.
And then of course the top of the ninth inning, two outs, two strikes, Street on the mound. I had Ed poised with the camera to take a picture of the Rockies celebrating on the field. And then, with two pitches, the Phillies tied it. Then they took the lead. I just sat down in my seat and had to shut my eyes. Ed put down the camera. And then we lost, and our post-season ended, and we all shuffled out into Lodo in a kind of silent contemplation. I know I was in a trance. I couldn't believe that it had ended just like that, with one strike all that was missing from us winning the game.
In the past week, I've left Denver again, and come back to England, where the sun hasn't been out since I landed and the days are dramatically shorter than when I left. Nothing feels like summer ending like the end of the Rockies' season. The playoffs are about big East and West Coast teams who I don't care about and winter is coming.
But I'm getting optimistic for summer 2010......