Hoo-boy! This year’s fall classic was a real humdinger! Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, winning their eighth championship, and third in the last ten years, four games to two! And what games! Exciting! Riveting! And Knowingly Undersold was there!
That’s right, for the first time, our crack reporting team was on hand to witness the glory and grandeur of America’s pastime up close! Now, for reasons of transparency, it is worth noting that our travel and entertainment budget would not possibly have been able to include plane trips and hotels in Boston and St. Louis from our home base in Chicago, therefore only one game was actually attended. But what a game! Game Three! Let’s go now to that report, covering all the excitement of the 109th World Series!
St. Louis, Oct. 26 – On short notice, acquiring a hotel room in St. Louis itself was impossible. Say what you will about charmingly midsize Midwestern towns, one thing they could certainly improve is their lodging capacity. Sure, I didn’t book until like three days before, but seriously, you need a hotel room in Chicago, no matter what the hell is going on there, you can get one. I’m just saying.
So because of that…
Troy, Il, Oct. 26 – Now this is the lap of luxury. Only 25 miles from Busch Stadium, our hotel featured a private bathroom and free Wifi! That’s right, the sky was the limit. Just check out these sweet amenities:
You will not defeat us, unexpected fire!
I mean, they were very prepared against death by flames
And check out that view!
But really, it wasn’t about the hotel. It was about the baseball! The crack of the bat, the cloud of dirt at home plate with a massive collision, weird obstruction calls – that’s the sweet nectar of the national sport. And, if you wanted to, you could watch it right from your hotel room in Troy, IL!
The wife (seen here putting on socks) could have watched the TV from where she sat! (Television not pictured – that’s a microwave)
Okay, enough about the hotel room! Jesus!
Oh, Jesus was present as well. Thanks, Gideons.
But the game! Busch Stadium! Those notoriously nice Cardinals fans! How did that go?
It was a picture perfect day for October baseball. You couldn’t hope for warmth and sunshine – the temperature hovered around fifty and the game was at night, but nonetheless it was crisp and clear and every play was visible, which is more than I can say for some football games.
Yep, Knowingly Undersold was there, too. Fingers froze, report not submitted.
And before the game started, we got up close and personal with the sports celebrities in the game and covering it. For further reasons of transparency, I should say that we only managed to work our way down to the field during Red Sox batting practice, and so our coverage is very Boston heavy. Enjoy these exclusive images!
2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell, now a talking head for the MLB Network
Here, Red Sox great and MLB Network talking head Kevin Millar chats with future World Series MVP David Ortiz
Glowering creepily in the background above is Red Sox first base coach and glorious mustache sporter Arnie Beyeler.
For your further edification
I didn’t want to let the moment pass undocumented, and so managed to get a photo with Big Papi himself! Highlight of my life below!
Me, left
What about the game?! All the exciting plays! The back and forth scoring! That wild ending! Oh, it was a rollercoaster, all right. A non-stop barn burner of elation and heartbreak!
Tim Kurkjian, John Kruk, and some ginger, I think doing crossword puzzles! Baseball fever!
And inside the stadium the tension was ratcheted up to an unbearable degree. Every pitch was an opera, an epic of loss and redemption and sorrow and unbridled glee. We were at the epicenter of the sports world, and we knew it.
Center, the one guy not supporting either team. He apparently thought it was a Grateful Dead concert. Jerk.
Busch Stadium threatened to burst at the seams. The largest crowd in stadium history (all seven years of it) witnessed what has been described as one of the most memorable games in a recent World Series. Ending on an obstruction call. Mass confusion. Controversy. Mayhem. The indelible images of that wild final play will never be forgotten by anyone in attendance, or by the millions who saw it from home. An incredible ending on an iconic field.
And, the stadium has a Hardee’s along the third base line in the upper deck
We bought a bottle of wine from a convenient store on the way back to the hotel, along with a bunch of snacks, and got crocked watching highlights in the room. What a way to end our World Series experience!
Knowingly Undersold 