Making dreams come true

The fireworks above the scoreboard after the game.

Mike cheering after Matt Holliday's three-run home run in the 4th inning.

The guys sitting in front of us made signs. This one reflected the number of wins the Rockies had until last night's game, followed by how many they'd have to win yet to win the World Series.

UNBELIEVABLE. That's the only word I have for last night's Colorado Rockies game that clinched them a spot in the World Series. They beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4, sweeping the D-backs in the National League Championship Series. I went to the game with Mike, and it was incredible.

Mike has been to several playoff games already because he's had to report on them for his job. I wanted to be able to experience a game as well, and so when a friend offered to sell us some tickets, we jumped at the chance. Who knows if this will ever happen again? The Rockies are on an incredible winning streak. They've won the last 21 of 22 games, including seven games in the post season. It's a streak that has led them to the first World Series in the teams' 15-year history.

The game itself was electrifying. I've been to a lot of Rockies games before, but none like this one. When the crowd got to its feet and waved those white "Go Rockies" towels around, cheering the team on, the energy was amazing. I have to admit, though, that I wish Rockies fans this excited had been with the team long before this late-season/post-season run. The Rockies have struggled for many years -- the owners and managers have taken a lot of criticism for decisions they've made through the years -- and it was only a few months ago when people thought of the Rockies as the team that would always disappoint them. In May the team's record was a dismal 18-27. When they swept the New York Yankees in June, some people started to come around. But the season still had a long way to go at that point. People really started to catch the fever in late September, but still . . . the World Series? I mentioned to Mike last night that three weeks ago, we were enjoying our vacation in Hawaii. It never crossed my mind -- NEVER -- that we'd be sitting at a National League Championship game three weeks later, and the Rockies would win the series.

I think the thing that has touched me the most about this amazing run to the World Series is what it says about life, particularly life for me and Mike right now. This has been a difficult season for both of us in a variety of ways. We've dealt with some disappointments that make us wonder if we'll ever enter into what we believe God has for us. I'm glad I got to watch last night's game with Mike, because I think it's a foreshadowing of good things to come for us. Because of his role in the Denver media, Mike has followed the Rockies closely for the past five years. Throughout their disappointing seasons, Mike continued to believe in the organization and the course set before them. His colleagues in the media thought him naive. The Rockies going to the World Series means so much to him because Mike knew it would happen. He didn't necessarily think it would happen this year, but he knew the nay-sayers would be silenced eventually.

As we both whooped and hollered watching Matt Holliday hit a three-run home run, the thought struck me that we, too, would see a day like this come in our lives. To the world -- the disappointed fans, the arrogant sports columnists -- the Rockies reaching the World Series seemed like a pipedream that would never happen. But it did -- and it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't just luck. It was the result of some hard decisions -- hard for a time anyway -- that to those not involved seemed like the wrong thing to do. But where are the critics now? They're writing columns about dreams coming true, about how "building from within," as the team's owners decided to do five years ago, actually paid off.

Last night was like God telling me and Mike to stay the course and get ready for a harvest, to put our hope in Him because He won't disappoint us. We don't believe what the world tells us. We believe in our big God who can make even pipedreams come true.

Three levels of Coors Field, with the fans waving the white Rockies towels.

Me cheering the Rockies on.

The guy sitting in front of us made another sign. It said, "Hey Byrnes, How's that wall feel?" This is a reference to Diamondback Eric Byrnes, who made some (pretty dumb) comments the other day, saying the Rockies hadn't outplayed the D-backs in spite of winning two games in Phoenix. The day after his comments, Byrnes hit the outfield wall trying to catch a home run by Matt Holliday. Byrnes, by the way, was also the last D-back out in the 9th inning of the game. (I think it just goes to show that there's payback -- although I'd rather call it humility -- for those who run off at the mouth.)

Towels and brooms (for the "sweep" the Rockies made of the D-backs) were prevalent in the crowd.