Twins have it taking place

I'm blogging from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where there is a nursing convention going on (I'm editor of a nursing magazine), and where I watched the end of the last two nights' games between the Twins and White Sox in sports bars, surrounded by Twins fans. I'd have watched the games in my hotel room, except the TV in here doesn't get FSN North, which was carrying them. And what thrillers they were! Lexi Casilla got the game-winning hit last night, but Carlos Gomez was the hero of the series, making fantastic catches in the late innings in high-pressure situations both Wednesday and Thursday nights.

There's something slightly surreal about being in the presence of fans of a team foreign to you, who are celebrating a big victory by their team. I've been rooting for the Twins to win the AL Central ever since it became apparent that it was coming down to them and the White Sox, but not like I've been rooting for the Rays to make the playoffs. For a while, I was hoping the Twins AND White Sox would reach the playoffs at Boston's expense, but that's obviously not going to happen. Anyway, the White Sox just won it all three years ago, and Chicago is one of my least-favorite cities, even though I have dear friends there. I'm a country boy from Newbury, in Geauga County, and I just don't like being in the midst of that many millions of people crammed into that small a plat of land.

All that said, I have nothing much against the White Sox. And while I'm generally rooting for the Twins, I was watching last night's nailbiter as a more or less impartial observer, surrounded by people who were hanging on every pitch because they so desperately want their team to win the division. I know that feeling, of course; I'm just not used to not sharing it with the people around me. I'm not sure quite how I feel about it, but I'm on my way to another sports bar to watch the Twins battle the Royals tonight, surrounded by Twins fans. I look forward to it.