Have you heard the news?? The Texas Rangers offed the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and are headed to the World Series! I have watched this team play bad baseball for about thirty years and I am still in complete shock over the developments of the last twenty-four hours. That's right, our Texas Rangers are going to the World Series. The team that, until this year, had only won ONE (yes one) playoff game in the 40 year history of the team has taken down the legacy of the Yankees and is headed for the big show.
There is no sport with more superstitions than baseball. Talk to anyone around Dallas the last week or two and they would tell you what they had or had not done to cause the team to win or lose. I heard so many crazy stories--people believing that they could not go to the game in person or the team would lose, people who felt they had to stand every time the Rangers were at bat, people who wore the same lucky shirt/hat/etc, and the list goes on and on. I brought my own superstitions to the table. Every time I watched a playoff game on TV they lost, I had accepted that I would have to watch this team over the internet feed. So every game night you could find me on my sofa, laptop handy, watching football or something else while frequently checking the Rangers' website. I was able to tune in in the 9th inning, once the game seemed to be secured. I also had a "lucky" Rangers shirt that I would race home and throw on for all or some of the game. In the beginning of the playoffs I was not able to mention the team by name on Facebook due to an old curse bought on by the 2006 Mavericks and the 2008-2009 Cowboys. Once they got to the ALCS this curse seemed to fall by the wayside.
I have been sharing these stories with my co-workers, who are already certain that I am a complete nut when it comes to sports. Talking about the Rangers reminded me of the 1999 Dallas Stars hockey team that won the Stanley Cup. I have so many memories of watching those games on my 13" TV (I could hardly see the puck!) in my tiny first post-college apartment. I found during these games that the Stars would win on the nights that I ate marinara sauce for dinner. So there I was, making spaghetti, chicken parmesan, you name it! I will never forget game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals (June 19, 1999). It was the Saturday night before Father's Day and I was at my parent's house in Denison. I made a lovely dinner of stuffed chicken breast parmesan for my parents and we settled in to watch the game. And we we watched....and we watched....the game was tied and they skated into triple overtime before Brett Hull scored the winning goal. It was the wee hours of the morning--I am remembering somewhere around or after 1:00 am. I was convinced that they victory took so long because I had consumed the marinara in a different place that night and it took longer for the message to get there. Yes, I know, I am a complete nut.
That brings us back to last night, October 22. Dad and I made our annual trip to the Battle of the Ax, a 112 year rivalry between Denison and Sherman high school in football. The weather was bad and we headed home when there was a lightening delay. Imagine my dilemma when we got back to mom and dad's and the game was on TV. I decided to tempt fate and watch the game, with the idea that I could bail out at anytime if things started to look bad. The Rangers came through that I didn't have to tune out, leading me to think that the curse might be broken just in time for the World Series. It made for a great night because I got to watch the game with my dad, and he taught me everything I know about baseball. Now I am wondering if there is some kind of magical power about my parents house....the Stars win the Cup in Game 6 of the finals and now the Rangers win the American League Pennant in Game 6 of the ALCS. Perhaps a new superstition is born. Oh, and I didn't mention the superstition that the Rangers win when I watch football during the baseball game (which I did during the first couple of innings this night). Too much to think about!!
So this brings me to running...I wonder if any of my runner friends out there have race day superstitions. I have only one and that is that I want Erik to affix my timing chip to my left shoe for me. I think that this came out of laziness on my part, but he has done it for every race and who am I to tempt fate? So do any of you have any rituals that you must complete on race day? I would love to know that I am not alone and that I am not crazy. So let's hear them....tell me about your lucky shorts, socks, or race day rituals.
And Go Rangers!
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