im sitting here. on the futon. legs hanging over. watching mariano rivera's long run in from center field.
the man is unflappable. someone asked him what he hears when approaching the mound. silence. he said. he comes to do his job. and he does it.
i can't imagine what it must be like to be there at yankee stadium right now. the noise, deafening. the energy, full and tangible--a moving thing.
baseball was my first love. the field, my first home.
my father was raised in the bronx. the booze for my grandparents wedding provided by three yankees of the day. my destiny was tied to the team long before i ever entered this world.
but it was the summer after my junior year of high school that i began the slow and steady apprenticeship of becoming a true lover of the bronx bombers.
my uncle (the phillies fan, ironically enough) taught me the bulk of it. and my aunt the yankee die-hard and devotee of past great center fielder, bernie williams, added her own. i spent that summer falling in love with new york city and all it had to offer, most especially, its most decorated--most storied baseball team.
it is the history of it all that really gets me. it tells the history of this country. of my own childhood. and i am indebted to the sport for that alone.
there it is. line drive to jeter for the first out of the ninth inning. the yankees lead seven-three.
two to go.
the last time my boys were in the world series was the year of my apprenticeship. they lost. i have yet to see them win the world series. for me this story is new. this is a new part of my history.
i know many think baseball is boring. but its like the equivalent of a strip-tease. it's all about tension. give and take. gentle undulations.
fly to right-field. my boy swisher gets it for out number two.
hideki matsui got six rbi's tonight. seven runs we have, and he drove six of those babies in.
the whole stadium is on its feet, but my legs are dangling. off of the futon. kicking a bit wildly at this point.
there it is!! they did, they just did it.
their bodies coming together in one mass huddle. bobbing in a sea of green.
i love baseball. i'm so proud of my boys.
november is the month, indeed.