The greatest game ever?

So we went to possibly the greatest game that I may ever see in my life time. It is hard to put in to words what exactly it was like to be at this baseball game but trust me it was AMAZING!!

Let me first set the scene. It was a cloudy Sunday afternoon in the next to the last row in the upper level of Miller Park. We were there with my BIL and FIL. We were hoping and praying to beat the Cubs one last time. We needed to beat the Cubs if we wanted any chance of going to the playoffs. Playoffs and Brewers haven't been used in the same sentence in 26 years. This was a really big deal.

The Cubs jumped out to an early lead. The mood in the stadium sours. Everyone has their cell phones out checking the score of the Packers game. News from that game soured the mood even more. First we were winning, then our quarterback threw 2 picks, then he got hurt and then we were losing and would go on to lose. Really bad moods were all around except for the ANNOYING Cubs fans. We were also watching the score of the Mets/Marlins game as we desperately needed the Mets to lose.

It was getting a little tense. The Brewers were losing, the Mets game was tied. Then things started to take a turn for the better. The Cubs pitcher walked in a run so we had tied the game and Wes Helms hit a home run for the Marlins and next thing we knew it was 4-2 Marlins with a few innings to go. Okay so that helped. We were thinking, well if the Mets lose and we lose, we are tied for the Wild Card so we have to play the play in game. It could be worse.

Fast forward to the bottom of the 8th inning. CC Sabathia and Mike Cameron both had recorded outs and then Ray Durham hit a double. With 2 outs and our best players coming up we were hopeful. Ryan Braun, hands down one of the best players in baseball, is up to bat. We, in the stands, felt that he was our last chance. We needed him to get it done. After all, he did hit a walk off Grand Slam earlier in the week so he could hit a home run right now, right?? Oh yeah, he can!!! No joke, he hit a 400 plus feet home run. To say the stadium went wild was an understatement. I think my feet still hurt from jumping up and down.

Someone pinch me, is this really happening?? Yes, yes it is. We were 3 outs away from possibly going to the playoffs. The Brewers spent big money to bring in CC Sabathia and oh is he worth it. He has pitched 7 complete games for the Brewers, more than any other pitcher in the National League and he only joined the National League in July. He is AMAZING. So when we saw him bat in the 8th inning we had renewed hope that things were going to go our way. After all, we didn't have a lot of options. Our "closer" is TERRIBLE. So Sabathia gets one guy out, the second guy gets a single and now the tying run is at the plate. Oh no. Well low and behold the next batter one Derrick Lee hit into a double play. GAME OVER!!!! BREWERS WIN!!!

The crowd went beyond wild. Screaming, crying, hugging, waiting to see the score in the Mets game. They started showing the Mets game on the scoreboard and 10's of thousands of fans stayed to see if we were going to New York for a play in game or if we were going to Philly for the first round of the playoffs.

We watched, we cheered, we yelled and we waited for what seemed like forever for that darn Mets game to be over. We are sitting there with 2 outs in the bottom of 9th and the Mets have one last chance. We hear the crack of the bat and get really nervous. The ball is flying high and fast to deep center field and we waited with such anticipation to see if it would be caught or be a home run. AHHH I didn't want to watch but I am so glad I did. Catch, three outs, game over, last game in Shea Stadium and oh yeah the Brewers are going to the playoffs.

I have never witnessed anything like what I saw when that 3rd out was recorded in New York. We had cheering, streamers, confetti and champagne showers. It was truly a sight and I am so lucky to have been able to witness baseball history in the making. 26 years in the making but in the end the Brewers are going to the playoffs. And I have playoff tickets :)