I had another entry entirely started but then we watched
the final game of the World Series and saw the Giants win their third in three tries
(2010, 2012, 2014). It may take awhile before all of the Giants fans come down after
this one!
I have been aware of other World Series games featuring
teams I was not interested in, so I understand that it is entirely possible that some
readers here never saw a game of the 2014 World Series between the Giants and the Kansas
City Royals. It is also entirely possible that people reading this don't care a whit
about baseball, or any sports, but I tell ya, I have been glued to this series.
As I have said before, I am a fair weather fan. I
don't much pay attention to the games at all until my team gets into the playoffs, so I
started paying attention with the playoff games and gradually watched them win and lose
and win again until they were actually in the series.
If you like tension and suspense, you could not have asked
for a better series than this one. I would have said that even if the Royals had
ultimately won. The games were that good. "Each one was delicious
torture," said someone else on Facebook. There were two of the seven
games where the ultimate result was no in question--Giants dominated in one, Royals in the
other, but all of the games had jaw-dropping work in the field, amazing pitching (I even
kinda sorta got to where I could call a "ball" some of the time).
But it all came down to tonight's winner take all game and
it was a nail biter from start to finish. As one friend of mine shouted on Facebook
"WHOEVER SAID BASEBALL WAS A DULL GAME?" While the Giants led by one point
through most of the game (except when the Royals tied it up), and you'd think you could
relax and contemplate celebrating a win, in the 9th inning pitcher Baumgartner struck out
two batters and then the third hit a ball that was bobbled by the outfield and now there
was a runner on third base, who could tie up the game.
It couldn't possibly have been more tense when the count
got to 3-2 and you knew that the next pitch would decide whether the Giants won the game
or if it would go into overtime, essentially making it a whole new ballgame (and
remembering back to the 18 inning playoff game!)
But then the batter hit a pop fly that Sandoval, bless his
heart, caught for the out, leaving the runner stranded on 3rd base and Giants fans all
across the country celebrating the win.
Before the game started, Marcus Crowder, theater critic for
the Sacramento Bee had posted to Facebook
It's the last game of the season and my boys are playing. They're not supposed to be here considering injuries they had to front line players. History says they won't win tonight. Odds makers say they won't win tonight. The other team has the home field advantage and the more talented players. We've got heart and soul, not that the opposition doesn't but it's what we run on. So we'll see.
Marcus doesn't have a clue who I am, though I spoke to him once.
He's the Big Critic in the area (literally and figuratively -- he's about
6'5"), but I commented on his post and said "It ain't over till the fat lady
sings. I'm a fat lady and I am not singing."
Then along comes that heart-stopping 9th inning when he wrote, "Bottom
of the ninth. I can't breathe" and seconds later the game was over and I
wrote THE FAT LADY IS SINGING.
I wonder if he will remember the next time we are reviewing shows
together.
But it's all over and I can finally take off and wash my Giants
t-shirt. Good going, Giants. Walk proud, Giants fans. I'm proud that
this is my team, even if I ignore you all during regular season play. (And it's
always so nice when the city dresses in Orange and Black on Halloween!)
There is also good news on the Atria front and I am impressed with their attention to complaints. I had a note from the Corporate Communication Specialist who had handled the response to my sad tale of woe about my mother's birthday party. She told me she had forwarded my e-mail to the Executive Director for the Atria communities. Within an hour, I had a phone call from the head of Housekeeping, who promised the apartment would get a "deep cleaning" today and that he would continue to spot check to make sure that it was being cleaned properly. Now how much of that will happen, I don't know, but it made me feel good.
What made me feel even better was that I reminded my mother to watch the Giants game and called her when it was over and she was just as excited as I was and said she had been sitting alone in her apartment cheering and was happy I had called so we could cheer together. Again, a brief "almost like the old days" moment that made me feel very good.
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