Baseball

Postseason baseball...there is hardly a better time in sports.

No, my team didn't make it this year, but they gave a valiant effort towards the end (and early in the year), and hopefully they'll pull their heads out and content next year.

This weekend brings the team in the town I live -- the Giants -- vs. the team that I grew up loving -- the Phillies.

Yes, the Phillies.

This may seem strange...why would a girl out on the west coast love the Phillies? Why ever would she root for them (and I will be rooting FOR them, not just against the Giants. Sorry friends!)?

I don't think many people would believe this about the Phillies, but it is true. Growing up, my cousin LOVED Mike Schmidt. Because he was the oldest of our little crew, we often had to like what he liked, and, as such, all loved Schmit and his fabulous mustache, too. We wished the A's would play the Phillies just to see him -- remember, in those days there was none of this interleague play, only the World Series and maybe an exhibition pre-season game, and Candlestick was far and not easy to get to, so we couldn't go cheer him on versus the Giants.

At any rate, we always loved the Phillies. And, as such, that love extended to the city of Philidelphia, which...none of us had ever visited, and I would frankly have been surprised if we even really knew where it is located (age check: we were all probably under 10; doubtful that geography was a strength of ours). But, this didn't deter us one bit. No, instead...we had dreams, all based on the following: Mike Schmidt, the Phillies, Philadelphia, and baseball cards.

In short...our dream was to live in a trailer, which would be located by the baseball stadium, and make Mike Schmidt baseball cards. As we had families, we would just add on trailers, all which would connect to the main baseball card-making hub. See, we planned ahead!

The best part? At no time did our parents discourage us. They were seemingly on board with us living this dream, as long as they could have a nearby trailer as well. No problem!

So, you see, my childhood dreams all tie to the Phillies. Yes, we were all A's fans first and most, but, you just couldn't say no to the Schmidt 'stache.

So...go Phillies!