SERIOUSLY...THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!

It's actually happening.

To say that the claws came out last night is like the understatement of the century. This is the most surreal feeling I've ever experienced as a devoted Texas Rangers fan. After all the tears of joy last night that keep creeping back today every single time I see that curve ball (ahem...I stand corrected, that SLIDER...thank you Brother for editing every blog I write) that A-Rod could only stare at, it's still hard to believe that we are really going to play in the freaking WORLD SERIES! It's nothing less than absolutely AMAZING. I'm so giddy. I slept in my freakin' Hamilton jersey. I couldn't take the damn thing off. I've watched/listened to nothing but baseball talk for the past 16 hours. I can't get enough of the videos online. Me and Hambone drove around all morning looking for newspapers, and after five different stores/gas stations, we finally found what we set out for!

I haven't actually gotten around to reading the papers yet, but I'm about to go buy some frames to put them in! :) I did, however, read the articles about the game from the New York Times, and I have to say, the national media is FINALLY getting it. The Rangers are LEGIT. As I sit here and type, I'm listening to the videos playing on texasrangers.com, and all the credit the Yankee players are (finally) giving to the Rangers makes me smile. At last the sportscasters from ESPN and TBS acknowledge the talent of the Texas Rangers. The replays of the ALCS trophy presentation are chilling! IT'S TIME. We've said it all year, and it's no longer words, but reality.

I think a couple of people deserve a picture on the blog for their Game 6 production:

Colby Lewis - "Cobra"

WOW is all I can say. Unbelievable performance. Congratulations on coming full circle in your career! You deserve that W last night. Props to you.

Mitch Moreland

What a series for you. Thanks for your leadoff single in the 5th to get the big inning going!!! Congratulations.

Josh Hamilton

(I know, y'all are all astonished that he's on my kudos list).

Where do I even begin? As I posted on Facebook last night, your humility and humble nature are admirable. You give the claw all year, but when the spotlight really is on you, you only want to talk about your teammates and how this is a TEAM accomplishment. If only everyone in this world had that mentality, I know my job would certainly be easier! :) My brother thinks I need to seek counseling because of my obsession with Josh Hamilton, and perhaps he's right. And my cousin and friends tell me I'm creepy - I'm not fazed by this. I don't even care! How could anyone that follows him and his accomplishments NOT be obsessed with him? He made so many mistakes in his life, but he persevered with the help of his family and of course the Man upstairs, and at this point he takes NOTHING for granted and knows that he hasn't accomplished it all on his own. He's truly an inspiration to people of all ages, and he is living proof that anything is possible. I love him. :) (see above where I slept in my jersey...)

If you haven't watched his acceptance speech from the ALCS MVP honor, watch it now!

http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12892987&topic_id=14873332&c_id=tex

Some of my favorite quotes from his speech:

"Well first of all, all the glory goes to God, Jesus Christ...secondly, I love my teammates, I love them so much. Any of these guys could've gotten this award."

"I don't wanna talk about myself, I want to talk about them [my teammates]!"

"This group's here because they don't know how to fail."

"...and we love the fans!" :)

Obviously the rest of the team deserves full credit for this phenomenal, historical season. Elvis Andrus has been a beast, Michael Young a perfect leader, Bengie Molina - the badass. We have guys that go out there every game and flat out perform. Last night's game was freaking awesome. I called Vladdy's big hit when they walked Hamilton the 2nd time (weinies). Pissed as I was that they were walking my man again, I said, it's okay, Vladdy's got this. Right Brooke???

But even before that, at 8:15 pm, as one of my bff's, Jen Davis Vansau, and I texted throughout the game, it went a little something like this:

Me - Nelly is going to tag one today...I can feel it.

Jen - And Vlad!

Me - I hope Kins will turn it on today too (no picture available, but you guys get the point)!

And those guys, ladies and gentlemen, were your three RBI producers last night. So we pretty much called the 5th and 7th innings...you're welcome Rangers and Rangers fans. :)

Perhaps our foreshadowing skills are needed on ESPN??? It'd be nice for a couple of Rangers supporters to appear on those completely biased networks (yes, they're getting better, but they could still use our help).

Speaking of annoying, did anyone else see that clip on SportsCenter of Kobe IN THE MIDDLE of his basketball game, get word that the Yanks were defeated??? He was all pissed off on the court. This is shocking. A famous person that cheers for the Yankees??? Unheard of! Get over it.

Moving on...

I've done my fair share of making fun of Ron Washington for all of his "imperfections" (i.e. cocaine, smoking in the dugout, sunflower seeds addiction, ebonics, etc.), but he has the complete respect of his players and the Rangers ownership. He is finally getting media respect and respect from the MLB. I have to say that I really admire him for taking so much crap and dismissing it only to prove himself a great manager. Keep it up Wash!!!

A week ago when I wrote my blog about last Friday night's game, I really believed we were going to come back and prove to everyone that the Yankees weren't unbeatable in the playoffs and that we had the team to do it. Well done, guys. Way to prove me right! :) I love it when I'm right!

Now we move on to the World Series. The elite match-up. The pinnacle of baseball. I'm so pumped that it's hard to think about anything else (yeah...about that triathlon I'm doing tomorrow...). I can't wait to be in that Ballpark on Sunday night. With family and old friends and the new friends we'll undoubtedly make at the game coming together, this weekend will be full of memories and baseball history! We'll be tailgating Saturday and Sunday - Hope to see you all there!

Claws out, Antlers up! Go Rangers! It's TIME!

or...as Chels has learned to say, "ES TIEMPO!"

Oh - and for anyone that is totally concerned and lost sleep wondering all week (haha) - my volleyball girls kicked BUTT on Thursday and remain the only undefeated team in our district! :) What a fantastic week!!!