As I young boy, my father occasionally piled my younger brother and me into the old family station wagon for a drive from Hagerstown to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore for an opportunity to see our beloved Orioles play live. I have extremely fond memories of experiencing the joy of baseball through the eyes of a ten year old. How could anything in life be better than watching Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer ply their trade while eating ballpark hot dogs? What could be more thrilling than watching the giant bicepped Boog Powell knock one completely out of the stadium? Before the days of the ostentatious, spoiled prima donna, players were real men. As young boys, after the game we'd line up behind the dugout to meet the players, obtain their autographs, while enjoying their jokes and banter.
But despite living near Baltimore during the Orioles glory days, that ten year old never had the opportunity to attend a World Series game. Now, almost 40 years later, this giant kid, now living in Florida, finally acquired the holy grail; tickets to game 6 of the World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies.
How I anticipated that glorious event. The Rays travelled to Philadelphia several days ago with the series tied 1-1. Each team needed to win only one more game in Phillie to bring the series back to St. Petersburg for game 6. Sadly I watched the Rays fall behind 3 games to 1. I felt deep in my heart that nothing could stop them from winning game 5 to bring the series home.
Played in a downpour, game 5 stood tied 2-2 when finally postponed as a result of the inclement weather. After an unprecedented 46 hour rain delay, the game resumed in the bottom of the sixth. I watched on pins and needles as both teams traded score keeping the game always within a run.
The Phillie's Geoff Jenkins scored after Akinori Iwamura dropped a Jayson Werth pop up. But the Ray's struck back in the top of the seventh with a powerful Rocco Baldelli homer. The Phils scored again in the eighth and when Brad Lidge fanned Eric Hinske during the top of the ninth, my boyhood dream was once again dashed, if only for a year!
Can I get my money back on these tickets?
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