The greatest game ever played!

Howdy all! I don't usually blog about sports, but here is something that I just have to write about. About the greatest sporting event i've ever seen, and why I love them so dang much

I grew up with sports all around me. I played many sports when I was younger, I just couldn't get enough. Especially on my dad's side of the family, sports talk constantly dominated our conversations. And their was no team they loved more than the New York Yankees. My great-great uncle Waite(grandpa's uncle) played for them in the 1920's. He even stared some World Series games for them as a pitcher, and of course he won. My grandpa, one of my personal hero's, played for them as well. Hate me if you will, but I love the Yankees and no amount of crap given to me will ever change that. To me, the Yankees aren't just my favorite baseball team, they are the greatest sports franchise ever.

So you can imagine I was beyond ecstatic when I finally got to go to Yankee Stadium in New York last summer. When I first saw it in person, I couldn't believe it. It was incredible. Me and Jared saw the Yankees play his favorite team, DA TWINS! And I won't go into details of this game, but the Twins won it. Yes Twins fans, I saw Jason Kubel hit that grand slam of Marianao Rivera in person. Jared was happy, but I wasn't. Luckily, we had tickets to see the Yankees play my most hated team and rival, the Boston Red Sox the next night. I couldn't wait.

The game ended up being so much more than I even could have dreamed.

It was Monday night, May 17 2010. We sat in section 432, right above left center field. The Yankees starting pitcher was first year starting phenom Phil Hughes, while veteran Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Red Sox. The Yankees got off to a quick start, and were up 6-1 after 2 innings. I said to Jared "Well, I wanted a close game, but at least we get to see a Yankee win." This would come back to bite me, as the Red Sox battled back, eventually taking the lead 9-7 in the 8 inning after several home runs. The dream had now become a nightmare. However, there was still 1 inning left.

Over the course of the game, I got to talk with the guy sitting below us. He was a Red Sox fan, but a pretty nice guy overall. He was completely drunk,  but a fun guy to talk to. We talked for hours, and we had just met. All we could talk about is why we hated the other team, and the Vikings-49ers football game from 9 months earlier(he was a Niners fan). Sports allowed us to talk like we had known each other for years. As he left the game in the 8th, he looked at me and said "Ya know, you're kinda shady, but I like ya!" I still can't figure out why he thought I was shady!

Cue the 9th inning. The Yankees relief pitching got the job done in the top of the inning, retiring all 3 Boston hitters. Finally, the bottom of the 9th inning had come. This was the moment of truth for the Yankees. Brett Gardner quickly doubled for the Yankees off Jonathan Paplebon., Boston's closer. I won't go into why I dislike Paplebon,  but he's a dirty player to say the least. Up next for the Yankees was the man who's jersey I had bought the day before, the enigmatic Alex Rodriguez, more simply known as A-Rod. I truly thought if anyone could be a late game hero for the Yanks, it was him.

Turns out I was right.

On the very first pitch, A-Rod hit the pitch into center field for the tying home run. I lost my voice I screamed so loud. Everyone high fived each other, it was awesome! However, the game was still tied. We could feel it in the air though, we knew a Yankee win was coming. Up next for the Yankees was Francisco Cervelli, who was hit by a pitch from Paplebon(dirty player indeed) and advanced to 1st base. Up next was Marcus Thames, a backup player the Yankees acquired a month earlier. I barely knew anything about him, and wasn't sure how good he was. And as soon as Papelbon threw the 1st pitch, this happened.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=8095031

As soon as he hit the ball, I felt my heart stop for a second. The ball dropped into the stands two levels below us. Marcus Thames had hit a walk-home run to give the Yankees the 11-9 victory. It was like a movie scene. Everyone high fived and hugged each other afterwards. We stuck around the Stadium for an extra 15 minutes just talking with everyone about the game. We were all like one big happy family. On the way out of the game, there were 2 random girls high fiving anyone who walked by, refusing to leave until everyone had left. That's dedication!

Afterwards, we went to Mcdonald's in the Bronx, which was just down the street. Of course, all the other Yankee fans went their too. We couldn't stop talking about the game. And I was amazed. This one game made hundreds of people feel like a family that had known each other forever. It was wonderful.

And thats why I love sports. It is something that can bring just about anyone together. They are just a game, but they can accomplish so much more by the people they bring together. Whether it's talking about the Yankee game we just saw, or getting together to watch the Superbowl, sports bring people together.

That game was something I will tell my kids about. It was the most amazing sports event i've ever seen. And of course, i'll tell them about all the cool people I met at the game.

It truly is a moment I will never forget!

Sorry for going on for so long, I just love telling this story! Time to go back to watching the Yankees/ Red Sox game on T.V. right now!

Have a fantastic weakend everyone!

And of course, Shalom!