This One's Got Fizz

The Brewers won yesterday, staving off elimination for now, and avoiding a sweep. It was obvious from the mood in the stands that the fans who came out felt they played an important role. After losing two in Philadelphia, the Brewers were home, and maybe, just maybe, if we all cheered loud enough, we could propel our team to a victory. Well, it worked -- that and an aging pitcher who threw more than his fair share of balls.

I have never been to a baseball game like that. The crowd was crazy intense. Every pitch, every strike, every hit was a reason to leap to your feet and YELL. In the paper today, I read one fan's description of the crowd, that it was like popping a shaken up beer that sprays everywhere. It was electric. And it started hours before the game. The parking lots were packed with tailgaters. It was a sea of people as almost every vehicle pulled out a grill and some chairs as the occupants sat down to relish the taste of playoff baseball in Milwaukee. My clothes still smell like grill because the smoke was just everywhere.

And so baseball fever continues in the Brew City for one more day. Today I'll be taking the kids to pick pumpkins and apples (I promised Owen that Sunday was "pumpkin day") and then we'll hightail it home to watch the game at noon.