There’s a solid constituent of the American populace that is on the outright struggle bus this morning. I hate the term ‘epic,’ but quite frankly, last night’s Game 7 has earned the tag. That was hands down the greatest baseball game I’ve ever sat down and watched.
I mean, it’s also like….maybe the 5th or 6th baseball game I’ve actually sat down to watch in my life, but let’s not kid ourselves. That doesn’t devalue my statement at all.
Chicago and Cleveland played into the wee hours of the morning before the Cubs won the World Series 8-7 in the 10th inning. It was Chicago’s first championship since 1908.
We get so caught up in day-to-day strife that we sometimes lose sight of the true value sports have in society. Sure, people will argue about tax money going to giant stadiums and athletes being paid millions of dollars while teachers are struggling to save for retirement. It’s just guys “playing a game.” Hear it all the time – and I get it. We live in a day and age when people don’t stop to take a look at what’s really behind issues to propose solutions. They just say it isn’t fair for people to get millions for catching a ball, and they chirp.
Chirp, chirp, chirp – all day long. I could write an entire post about how stupid that line of thinking of is and how it’s led to our current American political landscape, but that’s another post for another day.
For now, we have to look at the positive effect this game had on society.
I’m not a baseball guy – I’ve written two baseball pieces in my entire career. One was an argument for MLB coming to Nashville. The other was me making World Series predictions in the Spring not knowing anything about the upcoming season.
I don’t understand what you baseball people talk about with your ‘short squeezes’ and I have no clue why Joe Maddon was stupid for pulling Kyle Hendricks when he did. That’s for these actual sports analysts to discuss.
Fuck that – I’m watching the raw emotion on players’ and fans’ faces. I’m watching the cutest, funniest, and coolest man on the planet, Bill Murray, look like a kid on Christmas.
I’m seeing the realization of a dream for hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of people.
For the players, it’s something they’ve worked their entire lives for. For the fans, it’s the culmination of decades of loyalty to a team that couldn’t win the big one. It’s unifying. It’s gratifying. It’s empowering.
You had people going to Wrigley Field and writing the names of their loved ones who lived an entire life and died before the Cubs won a World Series. How crazy is that? How awesome that the love for something runs so deep.
I don’t see how this isn’t the feel-good story of the year. Good for Chicago. Good for Cubs fans everywhere, and hey – good for the Cleveland Indians, too. That was a hell of a fight.
It’s just impractical to think that every member of our country is going to win a sports championship, star in a major movie, record a number one song, author a best-selling book, or anything of the sort. There’s too many damn people in America, and there’s nowhere near the opportunity for it. But, nights like last night allow everyone to bask
For some, watching their team win it all is just as good as winning it themselves. As long as we can inspire people that way, I’m all on board for keeping the sports train going.
I. Fucking. Love it.
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, Contributor to FanSided’s Bama Hammer, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo, @Bama_Hammer
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