I’m a curious creature, don’t ya know?
I sit on my butt all year watching the Chicago Bears offensive line fall apart faster then a deep-dish pizza. I check my twitter every 10 minutes making sure the Chicago Fire haven’t offloaded some young Peruvian prospect for some Colombian prospect who came with 20 goals and a bag of drugs.
Hell, I’ll even check out the Blackhawks even though I know nothing about hockey.
But, for the first 6 months of the season, I do not, under any circumstances, care about baseball.
But there is one thing I always care about, and that’s postseason baseball.
For as much abject boredom the regular season marathon produces, the postseason sprint is one of, if not the biggest, spectacle in American sports. And after the past few days, everyone has seen why that is the case.
I don’t root for any particular team because I have a soul, and it’s not fair weather like Florida baseball fans. But to watch the intensity and passion of a baseball postseason is like watching the World Cup every year. Of course, that is a reach statement, but you get the point.
I don’t know who was the opening day pitcher for the White Sox or Cubs this year, but I do know Jack Morris went 10 shutout innings in 1991 to win the World Series for the Twins.
I don’t know who hit the first grand slam of the season, but I do know that Kirk Gibson’s heroics in 1988 were so epic that it overshadowed his heroics from 4 years earlier.
The point I’m trying to make is this: I do not care about some meaningless game in mid-June where the only reason to go is to scope out the attractive women in the stands sunbathing.
I really do not care to watch the All-Star Game and have to put up with three hours of Joe “If it weren’t for my dad, I would’ve actually had to graduate from college†Buck. And I especially do not care to watch John Kruk sell his soul for Philly steak and cheese sandwiches to blabber on my TV.
But I do care about home field advantages, I do care about a team putting a city together in the way only sports can.
There’s a reason the World Series is a unofficial national holiday, there’s a reason people know the name Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth, Kirk Gibson, Derek Jeter and others. But there’s also a reason why people know the names of Bill Buckner, Steve Bartman, Leon Durham as well.
There is not a bigger spectacle in American sports then the baseball playoffs. So, consider tonight the test drive, because you’ll be buying this car by the end of October.
You know I will.
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