For the kid in all of us

Gather round, friends, and order what you'd like. Tonight, it's on me.

The boys did it! The absolutely unthinkable has happened. The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series.

Forgive me if I don't sit down tonight. I may not even bother with sleep.

It's so funny how the world works. I've spent much of this year ignoring my first love. The old game just isn't the same anymore. And when longtime Atlanta Braves announcers Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren no longer were working the majority of Braves telecasts, I finally just said to hell with it. Time to move on.

The one exception was the Tigers. I'd catch some games here and there on Directv. Made my annual pilgrimage to Motown in July to watch this resurgent team play.

Yeah, I thought they'd make the playoffs. No, I didn't think they'd beat the Yankees.

And tonight, when Maggs hit that shot to left center, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth (who's writing this script, huh?), I leapt for joy, suddenly remembering why I love this old game so much.

Oh, this is great. That I was with my best friends to watch it happen made it that much more special. I feel like a little kid.

Come Monday, I'm taking the plunge and standing in cyberline to order World Series tickets for next Saturday night. If I'm successful, Jamie and Kristina's birthday bash scheduled for next Thursday night may have to turn into Jamie and Kristina's Birthday Bash and Jake Mabe's World Series Pregame Party.

What makes this so delicious is all the suffering Detroit fans have endured. Losing to the Twins in '87. Spending the next 18 years in mediocrity. Sparky's firing. The closing of Tiger Stadium. That pathetic 119-loss season three years ago.

Tonight the Tigers are the best team in the American League. Next week, they'll host their first World Series in 22 years.

Here's one for the kid in all of us. For those fools who still dream impossible dreams --- and for those rare days when the sun goes 'round the moon and the stars fall right in your lap.

If this is a dream, please don't ever let it end.