Let's Play Ball!

Tomorrow, my favorite baseball team from my childhood - the Kansas City Royals - will play in a one game wildcard play-in game. If they win, they go on to the American League Division Series. If they lose - they leave behind the best season Kansas City fans have witnessed in a long time. Up until two days ago, there remained the slimmest of hopes that the Royals could avoid the play-in game and win the division, but it wasn't to be. If they had won the division, they'd be playing Baltimore on Thursday, in a game I have a pair of tickets to attend. I still look forward to taking Connor to a play-off game of his beloved Orioles, but I was REALLY hoping the Royals would be there.

Connor has been a huge sport throughout these last several games. The Os have been a lock for the post-season for a while. Not so with the Royals. My parents gave Connor a Royals shirt, and up until Saturday, every time he wore the shirt, they won. Superstitious? Why yes, I am. But he's been rooting hard for the Royals because he knows my whole family has their hearts on this one. He'll go back to rooting for his O's come Thursday evening, as he should, but for now, it's nice to have the whole house rooting for the Royals.

If the Royals do manage to make it into the ALDS, then it is essential they win at least one game because if they do, my sister (who might be the biggest Royals' fan ever) will be watching the game from seats I was lucky enough to get when I went online after seeing on Facebook that the ticket system kept crashing. I'm pretty sure that I'll hear her shouting from the stadium as I watch from my home. She asked me if I was going to fly home for the game, and it did take me a minute to decide that no, I would not do that. I'm holding out hope that the Os and Royals will play in the ALCS, and that's when I'll see them in action.

And then, of course, there's my current hometown team, the Nationals. They have secured home field throughout the play-offs. Ed, Connor, and I will be at home game 1. We opted to pass on game 2 since Ed and the kids had a camping trip planned before the playoff picture was clear, and we'll be back at the stadium if they end up making it a five game series. Most of me hopes they have wrapped up the division series before it comes to game five, though I'm sure it would be exciting. But oh, the heartburn it could case.

With three strong rooting interests in this year's play-offs, I'm hoping at least one of these teams will make it to the end! But even if they don't, we're pretty much experiencing baseball nirvana in this house - which as a Royals' fan, I had given up on long ago.

His favorite team.

The shirt he wears to make me smile.

Go ROYALS! Go NATIONALS! Go ORIOLES!

Elaine