It's only a game.

"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal."

Tomorrow brings the true beginning of fall. The leaves turn a passionate red and you count the trees in bunches of three and in lines of nine. The crack of the dried leaves and branches under your feet sails in the air and lands on heads tightly covered by cloth hats, proudly protruding from the forehead the simple, regal two letters representing 40,000 fans and 25 mere mortals who wear the symbol on their chests, protrusions of the heart, a soul wrapped in a white and blue linen, a leather-bound hand gripping the pill of a white ball, wound simply with red twine and represeing the contrast of good and evil, their interlocking bodies rising together as one to create the fire which imbues the crowd with the essence of all that passion stands for: all that is holy; the beautiful game.

I think I care about baseball too much.

I'm trying to figure out how I can watch Game 1 tomorrow in the basement of the Hillel. Normally I would be able to do this with no problem. Tomorrow is Rosh Hashanah. I am sure God is a Padre fan and not a Yankee fan. God goes for more substance with less luxury, which is the Padres, and not excess and snobbery, like the Yankees. So i think i'll be alright.

This game runs in my veins. It is such a study in tension and release, in passion. Everything has a buildup. Momentum switches like the swings of a pendulum. So many things must go right - so many things can go wrong. The team that deserves it doesn't win it sometimes, and it seems like all the time when it comes down to the wire. With one bounce of the ball i could be in tears or screaming and dancing in hysterics. Either way I will be as exhausted after watching a game as if I were actually playing in it.

My team hasn't been in the playoffs since i was 11 years old. There's a lot of buildup here. I might lose it and go insane.

It's likely.

I dont normally pray but perhaps i will this time.