the more things change, the more they stay the same

the title of this post says it all for me tonight.  in what has now become custom in my fair city of houston, texas, the houston astros suffered a tough and very costly loss to the kansas city royals.  to say that watching the last two innings of the game felt like being punched in the stomach is putting it mildly.  the devastating loss took the air out of what up until the bottom of  the 7th inning, had been an electrifying and boisterous sell-out crowd in our little juice box, aka minute maid park. literally, mouths open with looks of shock were  visible everywhere.  including in my cubicle at work.  i couldn't watch it but i was listening to it on the radio and following tweets and facebook updates.  i went from edge of the seat excited to hole in the pit of my stomach disappointed. i was so angry and so let down afterwards that i almost wanted to cry.  now, before you start calling me "dramatic debbie" or "drama queen" or tell me it's just a game, let me just stop you right there.  for those long time followers of my blog, it's no secret what a huge astros fan i am and have been since i was about 5 years old.  i've told numerous stories of my dad taking my brothers, sister and i to the astrodome.  i was there when mike scott pitched his no hitter.  i was there when the astros played their last game in the dome.  i am and have been with this team when it was in last place and when it was in first place.  so yeah, maybe i'm a little exuberant when it comes to this team.  come on, let's be real here, this is a houston team we're talking about after all.  this is not our first rodeo when it comes to suffering great losses. not just in baseball, but football and basketball as well.  but for the sake of this post, i will stick to baseball.  the last time i can recall feeling this horrible was back in the 1980 playoffs when the philadelphia phillies beat us in game 5 in extra innings and in the 1986 playoff game against the new york mets, that one we lost in 16 innings.  ouch.  each of those games i can remember where i watched it and how it felt when we lost.  felt like the 1980s all over again today.  so  we can blame it on the players, the bad calls, the poor managing, karma, bad juju, whatever you want.  but the fact remains, we lost.  as a result, we are now forced to go back to kansas city and play game 5 on wednesday. (something no one in houston wanted -except kc fans of  course) it's a winner take all. and by "all", i mean advance to the next level. loser goes home.  can the astros do it?  most definitely.  i mean, no one expected them to come this far and yet, here they are.  will they do it?  i hope so.  win or lose, i'm a fan through and through.  albeit a pissed off fan right now, but a fan nonetheless.

game 5. it's on.  bring it kc.

The Thrill of Victory -that's it.

Ten years ago, I was anxiously awaiting the birth of my nephew, Ethan and celebrating the Houston Astros as they clinched the division title and went on to the World Series.  TEN.YEARS.AGO. That's a long time yes?  Well, not anymore.  Tonight, my "little engine that  could" Houston Astros, played a do or die game against the NewYork Yankees where they not only dominated the mighty Yankees, but beat them as well.  That's right, I said the New York Yankees lost to my Houston Astros. Let that marinate in your mind for a moment will you? Go ahead, I'll waiit.  Feels good doesn't it?  Nothing gave me more pleasure than watching Carlos Beltran (aka as the "trader" --in Houston) and Alex Rodriguez strike out to our ace pitcher, Dallas Keuchel.  Something about sticking it to the bad guys that always makes me feel good.  Oh how the mighty have fallen.  Excuse me while I basque in the glory of this victory just little while longer would you?  You see,  if you live in Houston long enough, you will learn that our sports teams -all of them, are somehow or other, well, cursed. I mean, they have to be.  How else do you explain the year after year of excrutiating, gut wrenching losses  that we have had to endure? The ever tiresome "We'll be back next year!" mantra that has been embedded in our heads. I think Houstonians as a whole have become numb to the pain.  Seriously.  Even this game. I now have no nails left as a result of the nail biting I was doing throughout the game.  Because although we were ahead, way down in the pit of my stomach, I was cringing with dread that somehow someone was going to pull the rug from under us and say, "Haha not really!" and we would lose.  And so, my nerves got the best of me and now I have to schedule a trip to the nail salon asap.  

I have plenty of friends and even family that laugh at my passion for the Astros  Remember, they were not always contention worthy.  But a fair-weather fan, I am not.   I owe my love of baseball and the Houston Astros to my dad.  He used to take not one, not two, but all four us (my brothers and sister and I) to the Astrodome.  It was there that I fell in love with the game, the Astros and the players -of course.  My brothers and sister and I, along with my dad, are all passionate about this game and this team.  Always have been, always will be.

So tonight, I relish in the thrill of victory and the excitement that has erupted in our city. Tomorrow I'm sure I will get my share of the negative nellies and haters trash talking the boys, but for tonight, I celebrate. Great job boys!

Bring on the KC Royals!