Much will be written today by actual sportswriters who know real statistics and the full history surrounding the Chicago Cubs win in the World Series.  I am not one of those people. What I do know is that my Chef who has been a fan through all the bad seasons is glorying is the win. That is enough. He needed that win. I needed to see him jumping up and down, running to hug and kiss me, his hair standing on end where he had run his hands through it during the ties, during the rain delay, the scary innings. I also know that America needed this game, this series.

During a most divisive election season, hurtful angry words have been hurled like pitches in the big leagues, coming at such speeds we can’t do anything but swing and try to knock them back, away. The rules of the election process have all but been cast aside as if this were just a pick up game and not history making before our eyes. We are weary, all of us, from too much adrenaline, too many posts and reveals and innings, finally nearing the last stretch yet unable to congratulate the other team if they win. We won’t raise our glasses, say good game and start planning for next season. There are many who will challenge every call, question the validity of every out which ever way the election unfolds.  But last night, the game showed me the real America, the one that is already great.

Baseball is our national sport and based on my newsfeed, the country was watching. There really could be no wrong ending, either team deserved it, needed it, had waited to bring the title home to their fans. My friends let their children stay up well beyond bedtime to watch. Friends who had stopped commenting on each others posts were “liking’ and responding with each new comment. People were uniting around these two groups of young men, passionate about their cause, supporting them from living rooms across the nation. It was beauty, it was unity, regardless of side. I was struck by the variety of skin color of these young men, the multicolored youth who wore the same uniforms. They were not divided by nation of origin, they were not divided by political views, they were not separated by family income. They wore a team uniform and hugged and celebrated or hugged and mourned together. They came in together and left together. They all fought and none gave up, they are worthy of our respect and are truly role models in this time we are so desperately seeking some. There couldn’t be a better year for this World Series, for the national pastime to take over our attention and remind us who were really are.

Thank you Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, America needed you. You all delivered. We are still great at heart, on the field, where it really matters.