Within minutes of the final out I had text messages from two friends, one exuberant and the other bereft. Being a fan of neither team, I was invited to experience victory and defeat simultaneously through these two, identifying with the joy of one and the heartbreak of the other.
“It’s ridiculous how happy this has made me.”
“Baseball is stupid and I hate it.”
Yes and yes. Always.
YoRocko! 
I admire this comparison, Rocky. I don’t follow baseball, but my ridiculous feelings come from the Blackhawks’ adventures in hockey instead. The first time they won the championship, I turned off the TV analysts who were trying to explain what happened all year and watched the pictures while listening to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Silly, yes, but it’s another layer in the joy of hearing that, ten years later. That’s not quite so ridiculous… but I do get silly about all three championship teams in other ways.