Let's Play Extras

I very rarely write about something before it happens and that's mostly because I'm better at reporting than I am at speculation.

But tonight, kids, the Tampa Bay Rays will play an extra game to determine who gets to punch their ticket to the post-season between them and the Texas Rangers.

And this scares the literal crap out of me--seriously, I just pooped.

All pants-crapping aside, it's moments like these that are perfect microcosms for why sports are great and incredibly brutal at the same time.  Even if you aren't a baseball fan--or even a sports fan--imagine the one thing that you've worked towards for the better part of the year coming down to one, JUST ONE, pivotal moment and if you blow it then that's it.  Better luck next year, kids.

If you screw up and lose it there's this overwhelming feel of everything you've just done has been for naught.  Then comes the scrutinizing over "If I just did this one thing differently then maybe we wouldn't have even been here in the first place."  It's absolutely agonizing.

But if you win...there's no greater feeling.  It's the exact opposite with everything you've worked towards coming into fruition.  You buy in.  It was all worth it.

And as far as baseball goes I live vicariously through the Tampa Bay Rays and I know for a fact that others do the same.

I played baseball for a summer once, many moons ago, and there were two resounding moments that continually haunt me and they both happened at first base.  For one, I hated the third baseman.  He had a terrible arm and could never get the ball across the infield to me without skipping it along the ground and that for me was a nightmare because I couldn't play the hop to save my life.  All I managed to do was get my glove down in time to form a little ramp for the ball to travel up my arm and pop me in the face.  This was obviously the third baseman's fault.

Secondly, I can remember the pitcher walking off the mound towards first base while I had the ball waiting for me to throw it back to him only he kept getting closer and closer to me and for some reason I panicked thinking that if I threw him the ball like I normally do I would accidentally zing it right at his face.  You know, because being thirteen and 80 pounds soaking wet, I had a canon for an arm that even a juiced up Roger Clemens was jealous of.  Instead of just taking a little something off and just throwing it overhand per usual I decided to lob it underhand and very pathetically utter this "unnngggh" sound as I did it too.  As soon as I did it I thought some guy would come over and take my glove and hat and say, "It's over, son."  And he had every right.

So I decided that it was best to leave it to the professionals and since 1998 my professionals have been the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays.  I mean, Hell I can best relate to them: we both don't have very much money and we tell people we're from Tampa when really it's more like St. Petersburg.

The reality of it all?  The Rays have to beat the Texas Rangers tonight, in Texas, for the right to face the Cleveland Indians, in Cleveland, for the right to play the Boston Red Sox, in Boston.  A long shot?  Of course it is.  It's hard to play that many 'must win games' and expect to come out on top but, hey, I'm a student of the NCAA basketball tournament and the NFL playoffs.  All of those are 'must win games' too and somebody comes out on top.  Why not the Rays?

I might be crazy--in fact I probably am--but being born in New York and being asked why I'm not a Yankees fan is an easy answer for me.  It's because the Rays are the good guys.

Look, I'm not asking you to be a Rays fan, or a baseball fan, or even a sports fan.  I'm simply asking you to recognize what you really want in life and understand that some people want that from sports.  I have watched and reported on sports for a long time and it's the most human thing I've ever seen.  People stake their lives, their good name, and their entire future on a game.  Why?  Well they do it for you.  And for me.  And for themselves.  It's a strange, strange thing but it's incredibly beautiful and heart breaking.  Isn't that human enough for you?

So tonight I'll watch my Rays take on the Rangers with eager eyes while I simultaneously switch over to the Dolphins-Saints Monday Night Football game and maybe I'll have a really good night and maybe I'll have a really bad night.  That's the whole point.  All I know is that I'm excited about something that I have absolutely no control over and I hope you have something like that in your life.