the houston astros
"it's just a game.."

i force a weak smile and nod my head and mutter "heh..yeah.." when every other part of my body just wants to explain how it's so much more than "just a game."

there's really no use in arguing this point, cuz i've found that when it comes to sports, you either love it or you don't. it's just that simple. sure, sometimes you can gradually become a diehard fan, but like donald miller said, "love for sports is both something that happens to you and something you decide upon." (i added the "for sports" part in there, but i'm sure that's what donald was implying.)

the houston astros -- i've followed this team since the days when the killer B's included the likes of tim bogar and derek bell. after starting this season 15-30 and coming back to win the NL wild card, it seemed like the perfect cinderella story. a couple of series later, we get to the world series for the first time in franchise history?! it was too good to be true.

and now, after the astros got swept in the world series by the chicago white sox, i feel so down. seriously. i wish i could just be like "at least we got to the world series" or "there's always next year," but that would be selling this year's team short. all four games were games that we could have and should have won, and i'm not just being biased. i feel so emotionally drained after so many highs and lows in every single game. it's ridiculous, i know, but that's sports. the highs are amazing, but the lows can be downright pitiful.

BUT i will say this.. the astros surprised a lot of people this year, proved a lot of doubters wrong, time and time again, and when this initial shock and sorrow from losing the world series fades away, i will learn to appreciate all that this team accomplished this year.