October Baseball

Sometimes it is not what you know but who you know that makes a difference.  That was definitely the case when it came to having a chance to buy tickets to see the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS playoffs yesterday.  We were thrilled to have great seats for the game, and to get to ride along with our super nice and hilarious next-door neighbors.  

Keep in mind, these are the same neighbors who play in a fantasy football league against each other every year, and they are as competitive as they are nice!   They played each other in Week Five and he destroyed her.  She drafted an A+ team that has gone down the drain week by week.  No being nice in fantasy football; he plain and simple took her down.  He was going to give her a chance and bench some of his better players, but by the time he had that idea it was too late.

We got to Cleveland early enough to go to East 4th Street, a block-long, brick-paved pedestrian street that  is home to several unique restaurants and bars.  Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating and several have walls that open up entirely on beautiful days like yesterday.  Clear lights are hung across the street and along the restaurants giving East 4th a party atmosphere.  The thousands of fans, Indians and Blue Jays, added to the festivities.

Our restaurant of choice was the Corner Alley Downtown and was worth the hour or so wait to be seated and place our order.  We decided to share appetizers since we were running short on time and wanted to make sure we were in our seats for the first pitch.  Corner Alley did not disappoint – the appetizers were delicious and the beer was ice cold.

The party atmosphere continued all the way to Progressive Field, and it never stopped!  The crowd was on their feet for most of the game.  Red rally towels were waving madly, fans were screaming and clapping, and magic was in the air.

This team that we love is on fire!  They have fan support cheering them on.  Everyone in Cleveland believes.

John Adams kept the beat going with his drum and it made me think of an interview I heard a few years ago.  The opposing pitcher said it is almost impossible to concentrate and pitch well with the constant beat of John’s drum.  He has been a fixture of Indians baseball for so long that I can’t imagine a home game without him.

Cleveland won, we have dreams of going to the World Series, and we are fortunate to have neighbors on each side who are Indians fans.  Life is good.