I believe.
I am nervous.
They have to go all the way.
This is how I felt on Saturday night (and still feel) when I watched the Cleveland Indians battle the Chicago Cubs at the World Series.
I thought logically though; I had only spent $5 a ticket to watch the Series at the sold-out Progressive Field’s Watch Party.
According to Cleveland Indians, the Game 3-5 Watch Parties brought more than 67,000 fans. The money from the watch parties benefited the Cleveland Indians Charities and MLB Charities.
The downtown crowd was electric even before we walked between the Left Field gates. The Cleveland Cavaliers were in town, but all eyes were on the field next door.
Since the Watch Party game seats was first come, first serve, we got there about a half hour before the gates opened. This was good timing, as thousands of fans lined up for about an hour or so to wait to get in.
We were very pleased to see Rally towels being handed out at the gates, along with the concessions in full-swing.
The seats filled up at all levels. People were milling around to find the best place to watch the big screen. We got seats in 174 on the third base side with our two sons Noel, 9, and Anton, 7.
There were a lot of families with their children and plenty of warnings from the Cleveland Indians to keep language and behavior appropriate for everyone.
Full disclosure: my older son had been a Cleveland Indians fan since he was little, after seeing many games at Progressive Field. At age 3, he also chose the Chicago Cubs to be one of his teams. He was torn between his two favorite teams in the year’s biggest championship in baseball.
We had said to friends how we felt sorry for him as he picked the two teams who haven’t been to a World Series in decades — boy, the joke was on us.
During the game, after the first inning when the Cubs led 1-0, we all took an intake of breath in anticipation for a Tribe loss.
We didn’t have to wait long to let it out as Carlos Santana hit a solo home run in the second inning.
As the action continued to heat up on the big screen, the excited fans cheered loudly, waved their towels and high-fived strangers.
The Cleveland Indians created a live-game atmosphere with on screen game statistics, camera shots of the crowd, and the famous Hot Dog Race between Mustard, Ketchup and Onion (Ketchup knocked his opponents down with Onion’s purse, however, it is debatable if he won or not as it looked like Onion tried to come back). Slider and the Indians game crew riled up the crowd with t-shirt giveaways and waving the Cleveland Indians flag.
Some things weren’t open, such as the bleacher seats and the Kids Clubhouse, however, no one seemed to mind or leave their seats for too long.
Jason Kipnis’ three-run homer sealed the deal in the seventh inning and the game ended in a 7-2 victory with a series lead of 3-1.
While, the fans at Sunday’s final Watch Party didn’t get to enjoy a win, as the Chicago Cubs won 3-2, I hope they got to experience what we did. Being among Northeast Ohioans who love baseball and the Cleveland Indians, and the hopeful feeling that this could be our year.
Go Tribe! Let’s bring it home this Tuesday.
I am still nervous, but I plan to be at home in my living room to watch the game. What are your plans? Find out how to celebrate Game 6 with these tips!