Disappointed, but Proud

I've always said I just want one championship.  I don't need 2 or 5 or 27.  Just once I'd like to see a Rangers team win the World Series.

But I really would have liked to see this Rangers team win the World Series.  What an awesome group of guys.  I find it hard to believe we'd ever be able to match the kind of magic that this team had despite all the ups and downs and adversity.  They deserved to win it all, and it's a shame they came three wins short.  The game ended about three hours ago, and I still feel like I could tear up at any time, but I haven't to this point.  If we'd won, I'd be crying like a baby.

It seemed like this would be the year it all came together, especially since they finally got past the Yankees this time.  People will say that the Rangers were happy just to beat New York, and took the foot off the gas after that, or didn't take the Giants seriously enough.  That's a bunch of baloney.  Be honest; the Giants have better pitching and better clutch hitting than the Yankees.  The media won't say that, but it's true.

I still think that we are a better club than the Giants, but they beat us fair and square in five games.  I was glad the umpires didn't play a major part by blowing obvious calls.  It would have been nice to have a few balls bounce our way, but that didn't happen.  Ron Washington says, like I've stated here before, that it's not the best team that wins, but the team that plays the best on that given day.  The Giants played better.  I wish I could flip on my flux capacitor and go back to put money on the Giants to win it all in April.

But this isn't about the Giants.  My team just played a game in November, for crying out loud.  I'm very thankful to have enjoyed this experience over the last thirty days, and thank you for following my thoughts here on the blog.  I'll post in the coming days about what you can expect from Shaggin' Flies during the offseason.

I used to think that it was better to have my team just miss the playoffs than to make it all the way to the World Series, only to lose there.  I was wrong.  The seven wins to get us this far make it worth it, and to watch this community explode with Rangers love, even if it's just because the Cowboys don't provide a worthy distraction this year, is awesome to be a part of.

So now, I'll go to Academy to get an American League Champions shirt, which I hadn't bought yet because I was waiting to see if I'd just get a World Series one instead, and I'll wear it proudly.  Out of a 14 team league, we were the best.  Out of the 30 major league clubs, we came in second.  No shame.

So now, I won't worry about figuring out what day the parade will be held, and if I'd need to miss work to go. 

So now, I'll try to relax and relieve the tension that's been in my muscles for a month.  There's so much stress involved watching your team in postseason baseball.  I'd forgotten what it was like, since the last time we experienced that I was in high school.  I've got a lot of TV backed up on the DVR that I've put off due to the playoffs, so I'll get a chance to catch up on that.  I'll be able to pay better attention to my wife, son, and dog.  Life goes on.

And now, I'll do my best to remember this team for what it did over seven months in 2010, and not just over the last seven days.  That's easy to say, but hard to do.  This is unquestionably the best team in Rangers history, and they won the biggest wins in team history.

One year we're going to win a World Series, sooner or later.  Believe.