This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 26, 2011 - Here we go again. Are you up for it?
It's another do-or-die moment for the Comeback Cards, now down 3-2 to the Texas Rangers in the best-of-seven World Series.
The Redbirds got out of Dodge with their feathers ruffled but still intact and once again have home field advantage in the familiar shadow of the Gateway Arch.
Cardinal Nation is circling the wagons, waiting for that breakout, feet-stompin', vocal-chord-stretching, eardrum-rattling moment when Pujols or Berkman or Molina or Freese grabs the bull by the horns and does ... something.
Let's go Cardinals, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap ...
It was the bottom of the seventh, and the crowd was roaring. With two Cards on base, the Rangers turned to reliever Alexi Ogando, and the Redbirds sent pinch hitter Allen Craig to the plate. In Game 1, Craig had faced Ogando and driven home the winning run. In Game 2, Craig lined a single to right field, putting the Cards on top 1-0. The stadium was rocking.
The Cards would go on to lose the game 2-1 in the top of the ninth, but, well, that's World Series baseball: Innings of angst in overdrive, interrupted by Up moments and Down moments, and the belief that all it will take is one lucky strike or one perfectly aimed hit into the corner to turn the tide.
Let's go Cardinals, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp ...
The Cardinals have a history of coming back from deep deficits in the World Series. They won Games 6 and 7 in 1926 against the New York Yankees, in 1934 against the Detroit Tigers, in 1946 against the Boston Red Sox and in 1982 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
And no one has forgotten that this is a bonus postseason -- an October surprise party thrown by a team that came from 10.5 games behind in late August to snatch the National League wild card slot from the Atlanta Braves. The underdogs who overcame the Philadelphia Phillies and then the Brewers to win their 18th National League pennant are looking for their 11th world championship.
The postseason has found fans traveling from near and far to occupy a red seat in Busch Stadium, or to stand against a rail or lean against a hard, concrete wall for three hours because standing room only is better than living room only.
Fans with tickets to Game 6 will still attend Game 6 -- moved to Thursday night because of Wednesday's rain.
They have dug deep into their pockets for the opportunity; $50 standing room only tickets are selling for upwards of $120 on StubHub. They've forked out $15 for a parking space that cost $10 in August -- and $9.75 for a plastic cup of beer.
But there is no better place than the stadium to witness a postseason game, even if the players are a quarter of an inch tall from your vantage point deep in right field.
And the foul pole blocks part of your view: Jaime throws the ball ... yellow foul pole ... there it is. Strike one!
And it's lightly raining.
And you're mummified in layers of red, but your toes are still turning blue. (Prepare for the brisk 50s at game time Thursday.)
Oh, there are rowdy sports bars around town and comfy home fan caves with 60-inch plasma TVs, but those spots can't come close to capturing that moment inside the stadium when 40,000-plus fans rise in one voice.
Psychologists even have a word for this sense of oneness: Uroboric mysticism.
Yes, baseball is a matter of moments, and the late Jack Buck -- the beloved Hall of Fame Cardinals broadcaster -- was the master at describing them from the viewpoint of the fans: Go crazy folks, go crazy.
But in Section 429, there is no announcer to describe what's unfolding on that field of grass below, and the best fans in baseball don't need explanations. They know today's lineup and yesterday's score and yesteryear's moment of victory -- or defeat.
In Section 429, there is no inning-filling TV babble reminding viewers -- again -- that this game could potentially be the last for No. 5 in a Cardinals uniform. Or endless shots of the other team's dugout while our guys are up to bat. Or confused conjecture about the inexplicable -- as in the Cardinals bullpen phone mishaps and the goofy hit-and-runs that punctuated Game 5 and wasted a strong performance by ace Chris Carpenter.
Inside the stadium, Thursday night won't be spent guessing about who will re-sign for the next decade. Who will be traded. Who will need surgery in the off-season.
In Section 429, it's about THIS pitch. THIS swing. THIS catch. THIS run. THIS moment.
For loyal citizens of Cardinal Nation who can't be at Busch for Game 6, here's a suggestion: Tune into the game on TV, turn down the sound and replay our audio clip from baseball heaven. Get off the couch, madly wave a dish towel -- red would be good -- and hoot and holler like there's no tomorrow.
Let's go Cardinals, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap ...
Because, win or lose, there will be a tomorrow. But it will be a better one if it comes with Game 7
