Posted by Steve
I did not post this weekend because I was in La Crosse. We were out Saturday night, and I kept telling everyone how nervous I was for the game Sunday. Breakfast Sunday morning was brutal… I was beyond nervous.
We watched the game at my brother’s house, and I was, predictably, a wreck. When the Brewers loaded the bases in the seventh I could hardly watch. When Braun hit The Homer, I went crazy. I did pretty much the same when CC got that last double play. But when Ryan Church flew out to end the Mets game, it was different. After my initial celebration, I sort of just stood there.
I have always imagined what my reaction would be if the Brewers made the playoffs, but the actual feeling was so much different than what I imagined. It is extremely difficult to describe, but I know such a moment can only be experienced by playing or watching sports. My passion for the Brewers could be seen as a bit strange, but I’m not going to apologize for it. I’ve been going to games my entire life, and I have never seen my favorite team make the playoffs. It is extremely disheartening to put so much time and energy into a team that never wins. I have seen the Packers win a Super Bowl and the Badgers win two Rose Bowls. Those were great, but Sunday was easily the best sports day of my life.
It’s funny how quickly thoughts can run through your head in just a couple seconds. When that last ball was caught, I thought about how dire things looked just a week earlier. Sure, it would have been great for the Brewers to not falter down the stretch they way they did in September, but I cannot think of a more exciting way this could have worked out. It was so improbable that I simply couldn’t believe what I was watching.
The three-hour car ride home was different. I realized this would be one of those moments I’ll always remember. I thought about all the games I’ve gone to with my friends and family. I thought about my dad taking my brother and me to games when we were kids. I thought of my mom adopting the Brewers as her second team after she realized I would be a Brewer fan instead of a White Sox fan like her. I thought about all my friends who became big Brewer fans in part because they wanted to share it with me. Then I turned on some music to distract myself because my misty eyes made it difficult to see while I was driving.
I was planning on going out in Milwaukee tonight to party with other Brewer fans, but instead I decided to watch the game again. I missed the calls on the home run and the double play when everyone was screaming, so it was great to hear BA’s voice crack as he shouted over the crowd on Braun’s homer. I also loved Bill shouting “Yes! Yes! Yes!” as the final out was recorded. I certainly give him a hard time on here, but he truly cares about this team. Bill, Jim Powell and of course Bob Uecker have been here a long time and have seen a lot of losing seasons, so you know this was a great day for them as well.
I watched the celebration again and couldn’t stop smiling. I listened to Uecker’s calls of the Braun homer and the double play and got the chills–I have never heard Ueck so excited. I watched Sportscenter and local news to see more highlights. I went to brewerfan to read through “The OMG WE’RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS Thread.” Now I’m here, posting at 2:00 in the morning.
There are two things that make this a tiny bit bittersweet. The first is that Geoff Jenkins is no longer on the team. Don’t get me wrong; Jenkins’ skills have diminished, and it was absolutely right for the Brewers to let him go, but he wanted to win in Milwaukee very badly and it’s a bummer that he never did. The other thing is the fact that Ben Sheets is done for the year, and probably in a Brewers uniform. I couldn’t believe FSN didn’t interview Sheets during the celebration, despite interviewing people like Gabe Kapler, Jeff Suppan, Seth McClung and Jim Skaalen.
Both Sheets and Jenkins gave the Brewers everything they had during their extended time here, and their best years were wasted on some terrible teams. I hate that they won’t be a part of the playoffs–especially Ben Sheets. Ben is my favorite player, and I’ve always held out hope that I’d see him anchor a playoff rotation for the Brewers. I am very, very bummed that he’s unable to pitch.
Outside of that, though, I’m on Cloud 9. From this point on, everything is gravy. Certainly I’ll be crushed if they do not win the World Series, but it wouldn’t compare to how terrible missing the playoffs altogether would have been. From my perspective, the team has accomplished its goal for this season, and I couldn’t be happier about it. It has been an absolute thrill to watch this team get built from within and watch the young players we followed for the past few years progress into a good major league team. The playoffs are going to be incredibly fun no matter what happens, and I can’t wait for them to start.
BREWERS! BREWERS! KEEP TURNIN’ UP THE HEAT!!!
