I had been standing — pacing, really — since the eighth inning, knowing I was witnessing the most significant moment in the history of the Texas Rangers franchise.
The decisive Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series was tied, 2-2. Win and advance to the AL Championship Series. Lose and pack your bags for the season.
Cliff Lee, who's putting himself at least in the conversation as one of the best postseason pitchers ever, induced a pop fly off the bat of Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton. Elvis Andrus cruised back from his shortstop position and made the catch to preserve a 5-1 Texas victory.
Ballgame. Clincher. Let the celebration begin. We did it.
It's probably my proudest moment as a sports fan.
At long last, this was the team I followed so closely and the team that I scheduled many summer nights around for the past nine years. This was the team that I spent my hard-earned money on for apparel, game tickets and a mlb.tv subscription. This team, whose youth direction I've identified with since 2007, just won its first postseason series in franchise history.
I'm not a staunch supporter of that many teams anymore. Since my job at KUsports.com as a Big 12 blogger requires my unbiased attention to detail, I haven't rooted for a University of Kansas sports team since 2007. I'm a 2006 graduate of KU. I'm perfectly fine with the situation. Blogging about the Big 12 and maintaining my Conference Chatter blog is great fun. I happily gave up my Jayhawk rooting interests when I took on my job.
My job enables me, however, to keep up my rooting interests with pro teams: Rangers, Mavs, Raiders. The latter two are fine, but they don't bring me the joy that the first one does. I'm a baseball guy. Have been for the past nine years. This past Tuesday, Oct. 12, was particularly special.
What made it even better were the friends and family who shared the moment with me.
My mom instantly called when we recorded the final out to share in the game-clinching moment. Amazingly, she had tears in her eyes. She surprised me on that one. Wish I could have watched the game with her. She's been a huge fan for the past few years.
After I talked to my mom, I glanced down at my phone and saw nine text messages. Incredible. I have some really great friends. I got back to every text message and thanked them profusely for their support.
I checked my Facebook and had several other wall posts. My roommate Brenna walked out to the living room and said, "You should check your Twitter." When I logged onto my account, 10 at-replies were waiting with my username attached to them. I was blown away.
I was pretty lucky on Tuesday night when I set my DVR to record the final inning, so I'd have it at my disposal whenever I wanted a replay (three times already). As soon as I hit record, Ian Kinsler blasted a two-run home run to give us a 5-1 lead. So the perfect 20-minute recording starts with Kinsler's homer and ends with the postgame celebration. I'll be watching that just a few more times.
My favorite camera shots on TBS came from the various angles they captured as we sealed the final out. The best one had to be Ron Washington (potential manager of the year?) hugging bench coach Jackie Moore around the neck as the final out made its way into the air. Or how about the reaction of Lee? I loved how he simply walked to catcher Bengie Molina and didn't even look back. He knew Andrus was underneath the baseball for the catch.
My reaction was somewhat like the reaction of team owner Nolan Ryan, who stared at the baseball in the air with wide eyes, hands up, then said, "We did it" when the victory was official. I stood in my living room as Lee induced the pop fly, had both hands in the air, and looked up toward the sky as the ball settled into Andrus' glove. I was too overwhelmed to scream or anything like that. I didn't mean to look up toward the sky in a religious manner, but that moment felt like a baseball-religious experience.
How about that deadline trade to acquire Lee for first baseman prospect Justin Smoak? Regardless of how the Rangers fare against the Yankees, that midseason trade for Lee was worth it. To establish a sense of respect around the league and finally win a postseason series was worth it. To defeat the AL East champions at their home field for all three of our wins was worth it. To see Lee dominate the Rays for all nine innings, strike out 11 and walk none was worth it.
Now the rest is icing on the cake.
Game 1 of the ALCS against the defending World Series champion Yankees will be Friday night, when C.J. Wilson takes the mound against CC Sabathia at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. We'll surely be underdogs, but that's just fine by me. We were underdogs against the Rays as well. And we'll surely have most teams and their fans rooting for us. I thought it was pretty cool when the Rays fans chanted "Beat the Yankees" when we celebrated on their field.
My former work colleague Ryan Wood phrased it interestingly on Twitter: "Congrats, sir! Now the whole non-New York world is on your side. Let's do it!"
Indeed. I'll toast to that. Let's put some icing on the cake.
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