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This was it.

Not only was little Linnea turning seventeen years old – our baby sister: seventeen – but Carrie-Bri and I were attending the first-ever post-season game of our lives.

NLDS Game 4

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

4:07 pm

On the drive over, Carrie and I weren’t convinced we would like post-game atmosphere as much as regular season atmosphere. It might seem too foreign, the team was too disjointed after Joe and Allen had set sail for eastern shores. Things weren’t the same.

But it wasn’t long after we got inside that I felt just as home as always. Same packed-out enthusiastic crowd. Just imbedded with rally towels (my first birthday gift for Linnea.)

Section 361; Row 1; Seats 10 & 11. Front row, sitting next to a couple of fans holding some – we thought pretty funny – poster-board signs reading: “Clayton Kershaw drives a hybrid.” and “Clayton Kershaw drinks wheatgrass smoothies.” That’s about as nasty as St. Louis fans get, even during the play-offs.

In the warmth of an early October afternoon, our boys took the field with Mr. Shelby Miller on the mound for his first-ever post-season start.

I think about halfway through the game I remembered that once again I had basically skipped dinner and forgotten about the York peppermint patties in my bag. Who cares about food in a roaring stadium whipping white towels in the air. I had already folded the towel and put it away for Linnea.

One hit against Clayton, pitching on short rest. Shelby solid, but two runs down. We needed something interesting. And of course, they provided something interesting.

Exact same scenario from Game 1. Lead-off hitter Matt Holliday: single. Jhonny Peralta: single. Matt Adams: Big City: three-run shot: euphoric leaping around the bases. Stadium one giant explosion. Not even a doubt they could do it.

Two innings later when canon-shots of confetti and blasts of fireworks burst into the air under moonshine, the whole team – like ten year-old boys in little league – jumping in a big red and white mass on the field … this is what we came to see.

We left feeling like it was midnight, cars honking, people shouting, laughing, music pumping.

This is October in St. Louis.