Harmon’s last, first holiday

Today was Halloween, Harmon’s last, first holiday. Kevin and I took the afternoon off and picked him up early from day care. We then had an awesome lunch at Cottage Inn before heading home to get ready for trick or treating. Upon arriving home, we noticed someone else had carved our pumpkin.

Um, yeah. Those damn squirrels. First, they eat the corn from our corn stalks and now they’ve started in on the pumpkins. Guess that’s what we get for waiting until the last minute to carve them.

Anyway, our intention was to get Harmon out before the other, bigger kids so we got him all dressed in his octopus costume. We went to about 10-15 houses up and down our street and it was pretty fun. He seemed a little scared at first but, by the end, he was voluntarily reaching into bowls of candy and grabbing his own piece. He got a decent amount for the first time and now Kevin and I can fight over it. It felt a little weird taking him out, especially since he’s not mobile on foot just yet. I kept thinking people would think we were just angling for candy for ourselves. But, I tend to overthink EVERYTHING. Then again, maybe I was just feely guilty for trick or treating well past the normal trick-or-treating age (I went my freshman year of college).

All in all, though, it was fun and we took a lot of pictures and videos (which I hope to have up soon). I was a little sad at the end, though, thinking that it’s the first and last time we’ll hold him in our arms while trick or treating. Before I know it, he’ll be a teenager and I’ll have to talk him out of wearing some awful Halloween costume all the while bribing him to be home on time. If I’ve learned one thing this past year it’s that time flies by so fast with a child.

I hope everyone had a fun, safe and happy Halloween!

World Series for the 'Birds

When the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series last night, it ended one of the toughest weeks of my sports life. Here was the team I grew up loving, from a city I lived in for four years, finally breaking through for the first time in 24 years. 24 years! I was TWELVE when Bruce Sutter struck out Gorman Thomas for the final out of the 1982 series on my brother Steve's 18th birthday. I'll admit my Cardinal credentials weren't as red as they once were. I left St. Louis 6 years ago, and even though cable TV has a wealth of baseball on every night, the Cardinals were rarely on in this market -- home of the Detroit Tigers. I am happy for the Cardinals; if you have ever spent time there, you will agree with the long-held notion that they are the greatest fans in baseball. I count myself one of them, sure as you can say, "Willie McGee!"

But that is where I am torn. Because in our house is one of the biggest and most loyal Tiger fans of all. And that is what hurts about last night. While I was glad the Cardinals won, I hurt for Aimee. She has toiled through many horrible Tiger seasons, and while many people joked this season about being a fan BEFORE 2006, she truly was one. As this magical season unfolded, I could see something happening, and I don't think Aimee even realized it. When they took a 10-game lead, I knew they would be in the playoffs, and then anything can happen ... and it did. We watched the Tigers every night on TV. I mean every night. And when we got tickets for the final regular season game against the Royals, I wondered out loud what would happen if the Central Division came down to the final day. Well, it did, and it was painful to watch the Tigers lose. Aimee was so upset. But the Tigers re-energized this city and area with a stunning run through the playoffs. Aimee wanted to go to one game each round, and we were lucky to get tickets to the first game of each round -- even the World Series. I am happy we could make that happen for her. No one deserved it more.

I was worried how we would find tickets for a game 6 or 7, because I knew if the series came back to Detroit, Aimee should go. She is right; you never know when you will be back. I am lucky the Cardinals have a shot at it every few years. But I remember the 1985 World Series, when Don Denkinger etched his name in Cardinal history with this call. And when my second-favorite team, the Minnesota Twins, defeated St. Louis in the 1987 series, I was happy for them and convinced the Cards would be back before the Twins. Well, Minnesota won again in 1991, and the Cardinals didn't have much of a sniff for another 20 years. The Tigers, in fact, had won a series more recently, in 1984. The Cardinals deserved to finally win, although the Tigers will be remembered as the story of 2006.

So, now it is back to football season, where, oh yeah, Michigan is 8-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation. In just a few weeks, they could be playing for a spot in the national championship game. I often joked with Aimee during the early part of the season what would happen if the Wolverines and Tigers played on the same day. Where would her allegiances lie? Well that was clear when Michigan played Michigan State, and the Tigers were on the verge of closing out the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. Aimee was listening to the game on a Walkman radio, and they were giving updates on the baseball game on the Michigan Stadium scoreboard. Even highlights. Very classy thing for Bill Martin to do, and the crowd was riveted. Well, I looked at Aimee about halftime, and while the Spartans were doing their annual lay-down to U-M, I looked at her and said, "you really don't want to be here, do you?" Before I could get the words out, she said "No" and we were on our way to the exits. She cried that night, with joy, as the Tigers closed out the first round.

Unfortunately, she cried again last night. And for the first time since April, when I was unable to get Opening Day tickets for the first time since 2000, they were not tears of joy. I love Aimee for her fierce loyalty as a fan. A lot of people jumped off the bandwagon when the Tigers lost the division, but she has remained loyal. We went to plenty of games when they lost 119 games, and we went to a few this year. It might have been more, but Harmon takes most of our time and resources these days, and sports has taken a little bit of a back seat. That is a good thing. But, I am happy Aimee got to finally experience this season. She deserved it. I am sorry the Cardinals had to win, in a way. As happy as I am for them, I have equal amounts of pain for her. She will be there on Opening Day 2007 when the Tigers celebrate their 2007 American League championship on Opening Day. I owe it to her.

Weekend Update

After having to work later than usual last Thursday night, Kevin was able to get out of work early on Friday. We took advantage of this and headed a little north of Ann Arbor (near where we used to live) to Erwin Orchards in South Lyon. We've been meaning to get to a pumpkin patch but, as always, fall is SO busy. Anyway, we FINALLY made it. We took a tractor ride out to the now-heavily-picked-over pumpkin patch but it still was fun. Harmon had a good time and there was just something about the combination of the cool air, the pumpkin patch, the orchard, etc., that made him crazy. He was talking like mad and squirming all about – more than he's ever done before. On the tractor ride back, though, he was a little more subdued. I guess he wore himself out.

After getting a pumpkin, we went inside and got some donuts and hot cider and Harmon got two gourds (little kids just love these things). We got too late a start (and it was a bit too cold) to check out a nearby corn maize so … maybe this weekend.

On Saturday, Kevin and I went to the first part of the Iowa at Michigan game. After lunch with my Mom and sister, Erin, at Jimmy John's (where Harmon ate his very first Slim 1), they took Harmon back home as we headed to Michigan Stadium. Later in the day, Erin and I headed downtown for the Tigers' game. Even though they lost Game 1 (I should stick with attending only Kenny Rogers' pitched games), it was an amazing experience to be at a World Series game – something I will never forget!

Sunday finally was a day to relax. We ran a few errands (mostly building up Harmon's birthday/Christmas wish list) but spent most of the day just hanging out and watching Harmon crawl all over the place. He's so entertaining and it's only going to get better.

On our list of things to do is to work out the details for Harmon's first birthday party, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 11 (his actual birthday is Nov. 12). My immediate family will be there and Kevin's parents, sister and niece will make the trip from Peoria. The possibility of 13 people in our tiny house is hilarious but we'll make it work. We're trying to divvy up presents and come up with a menu. And, of course, I'm stressed about it!

Lastly, Halloween is only one week away. I can't wait to get Harmon dressed up in his costume so he can experience his first time trick or treating (even though HE won't remember). It's his last "first" holiday and I'm excited. What can I say!

It’s on like Donkey Kong

Well, the World Series is set and it’s on like Donkey Kong in the Bergquist house. I’m a lifelong Tigers’ fan and Kevin adopted the Cardinals at an early age so … I kind of wanted the NY Mets to win just so we would have peace in our house but Kevin seems to think there won’t be a problem. Um, yeah, we’ll see. As for tickets, we finally were able to snag two Standing Room Only tickets for Game One. We tried, like everyone else in the state, to get tickets at the public sale this past Monday at 10 a.m. and it was a disaster. So, we continued to check Ticketmaster almost every hour, on the hour, afterwards. Finally, Wednesday morning, just before lunch, Kevin got through and got one and then I tried, got through and got a second one. Evidently, the Tigers’ decided to release a few extra tickets and we got lucky. I know they’re just Standing Room Only tickets but I just want to be in the building! And, being the gentleman that he is, Kevin has bowed out in favor of my younger sister, Erin. He says my family members are way bigger Tigers’ fans than he is a Cardinals’ fan so he thought it would be best to take one of my sisters. When we went to the ALDS game against the Yankees (the Kenny Rogers’ gem that I will NEVER forget), he said he felt guilty being there so this is his way of correcting that. So, Erin and I will head to “the D” tomorrow in time for all the World Series festivities. We are so excited and I still can’t believe the Detroit Tigers are in the World Series!

OK, enough baseball, how about some baby stuff. Harmon has really gotten the hang of this crawling thing and he is motoring all over the house now. Room to room, up and down halls, he’s everywhere! And, he is pulling up a lot on furniture and loves to walk with assistance so I don’t think it will be long before the full-out walking us upon us. I keep telling him not to wait forever to walk like he did to crawl! He also has two new teeth (at least two new ones that we know of – who knows what’s going on in the back of his mouth). The two teeth to the left and right of his top, front teeth have poked through. We noticed it Sunday when Kevin was brushing his teeth. Earlier in the day on Sunday, we had Harmon’s one-year photos taken by our good friend, Martin Vloet (with assistance from his fiancée – and also our friend – Katie Gazella). We did some in the studio at U-M Photo Services and then took some more outside at the U-M Nichols Arboretum. We haven’t seen the final product yet as Martin was saddled with jury duty all this week. But, from what we saw as we were going, they looked great. We’re so excited!

Lastly, I’ve been so caught up in the Tigers that I’ve failed to talk about Michigan’s awesome football season (so far). Right now, they are 7-0 (and ranked #2), with Iowa coming to town tomorrow (Kevin and I will attend some of the game before I run off to Detroit). This game will be tough but should be the last, big test before that showdown in Columbus on Nov. 18. If both Michigan and Ohio State teams stay undefeated, that, in essence, will be the National Championship game. I’m already sick to my stomach.

The Tigers are going to the World Series!

Ahhh, some of the most beautiful words these ears have ever heard! And, when I hear Dan Dickerson say it, I get chills up and down my spine!

Last night, the Detroit Tigers’ magical season continued with a sweep of the Oakland A’s to win the ALCS. They now will represent the American League in the World Series, which will start Saturday, Oct. 21. As has been the case all season, no one expected this, not in one hundred million years. And, because of this, all of it is so hard to digest. It’s like waiting for something you really want for years and years and years and then, all of a sudden, you get it. It’s hard to know how to react to it all. After watching the game itself, I spent the rest of the night watching and reading all the post-game stuff. Even though the Michigan at Penn State football game was on, I had a very difficult time tearing myself away from the thing I’ve been waiting for since 1984.

Once things really started to sink in, I shed my fair share of tears. I started thinking about what baseball has meant to me over the years. I also started thinking about what it means to the City of Detroit and, America, in general. I saw the following quote from Tigers’ closer Todd Jones and I started crying all over again:

“This city, this region, this state really needs this. A lot of people are out of work. A lot of people are hurting. And for three hours every night in the summer, we were able to give them a lot of joy. I am real happy for the city and real happy for the Tigers.”

I guess it reminded me of when I was younger and my parents had some very tough financial times (usually caused by General Motors) but they always made sure we had what we needed. And, my Dad made sure we got to a Tigers’ game once a year – the only sporting events my sisters and I ever attended as kids. I then saw this picture of Todd Jones, just sitting on the mound taking it all in LONG after the game had ended.



What a great photo!

All this got me thinking of James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, in "Field of Dreams" and his speech about baseball.

And then, this speech made me think about the end of that same movie. It made me think of the movie moment that makes me cry no matter what. When Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, is given the opportunity to finally play catch with his father.

Baseball, what can I say. I love it. Every April, you get a fresh start and then you play 162 games to determine your worth. You play every night, during the cool spring nights and the hot summer nights and the crisp fall evenings. The season starts as the days are beginning to get longer and then continues into the summer, during those beautiful nights under those picturesque sunsets – sunsets that don’t even start until 9 p.m. As September arrives, the days get shorter AND cooler. The smell of the playoffs is in the air, along with the smell of burning leaves and the smell of the furnace the first time you turn it on. This game turns grown men into ecstatic little boys, causing them to jump up and down like five-year-olds who’ve ingested too much Halloween candy. And, it turns little boys into lifelong fans, with visions of their heroes burned in their memories forever. Even at my age, there are so many images from this Tigers’ playoff run that I will never forget!

I don’t know what else there is to say about baseball and my Detroit Tigers. The more I think about it, the more I can’t believe it. Before the Fall Classic begins on Saturday, the Tigers have some time off to let all of this sink in and so do the fans. And, I think that time will be valuable for all of us to truly understand all that they’ve accomplished over the last three years. And, in case there is such a thing as karma or destiny or whatever, here’s an interesting fact – the 2006 Tigers clinched the ALCS on the same date the 1984 Tigers won the World Series all those years ago!

I'm not crying, you're crying

Wednesday night, just one day shy of his 11-month birthday, Harmon decided to crawl.

Kevin and I were hanging out watching the Tigers-A's game and he was doing his usual light-speed rolling routine. He rolled the length of the living room and then into the dining room. He took off down the hallway and then into the den. At that point, Kevin retrieved him, brought him back to the living room, where he got up on all fours and rocked a bit (which he's been doing for several weeks now).

At that point, we thought it might be yet another good time to work on the whole crawling thing (we've been working on it FOR MONTHS). So, we grabbed him and put him at the far end of the hallway. He promptly got up on all fours and crawled about the length of one of our hallway carpet runners. He did this a few times and it was so cute. I was relieved, Kevin cried. It was one of many wonderful moments Harmon has provided us over the last 11 months. The closer he got to us, there was less crawling and more rolling. Evidently that was faster for him – he much prefers the rolling! I think he would have crawled more had it not been so near his bed time. We could tell he was getting tired so we'll pick it up again tonight. It's so exciting!

Happy 11-month birthday, little buddy! We love you so much!

Who would've thought!

Last night, the Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees. After letting the AL Central division crown slip away last weekend, their penance was to start the playoffs on the road against the Yankees, whom all the experts were touting as the best line-up ever assembled. Although we lost Game One, we came back and took the next three to win the ALDS and to send the $200 million Yankees back to NY with yet another disappointing post-season. I can’t say I knew this was going to happen. I never imagined in a million years that this would happen. I never imagined this whole season would happen but I am loving every minute of it. The disappointment of being at Comerica Park last weekend to unfortunately witness the division title disappear has more than been made up for with this ALDS win. I can’t get out of my mind the performances of rookies Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya and Curtis Granderson, leading the Tigers to a 4-3 win in Game Two. I got tingles when I saw Zumaya blow away the Yankees’ hitters with his 103-mph fastball.

More tingles came Friday night, when Kevin and I were lucky enough to attend Game Three. The atmosphere was unbelievable – an event Motown has been waiting for since 1987! We hung on every pitch – cheered every strike and every out for the Yankees and every hit and every run for the Tigers. Kenny Rogers, the Tigers’ 41-year-old lefty, pitched the game of his life and one of the best games I’ve ever seen pitched. He was masterful and determined and dead-set on winning this game and earning his first-ever playoff win. The Tigers hitters were just as determined in hitting Randy Johnson and countless other relievers and scoring a 6-0 victory. The more I think about this game, the bigger it gets in my mind. It’s arguably the best sporting event I’ve ever attended! Everyone in the stadium was one on this night and the cheers were deafening. The experience was so amazing, it’s so hard to put into words.

Game Four of the series came yesterday, with a start time of 4:30 p.m. The MLB gods evidently wanted to punish Michiganders by scheduling the baseball game at the same time as the annual Michigan-Michigan State football game. Instead of staying home to watch the Tigers’ game, Kevin and I attended the football game but my heart just wasn’t in it. Although I physically was in Michigan Stadium, emotionally I was at Comerica Park. I listened to the first few innings on my portable radio and hoped that Michigan would have a big enough lead to allow us to leave at the half. They obliged and I got home in time for the seventh inning (just missing Jeremy Bonderman lose his perfect game in the fifth inning). Leading 8-1, Bonderman was pulled and received an incredible ovation. A week after giving away the division title, he delivered the division series title! After the last out – a ground out from Polanco to Casey – the party that Motown was expecting last week was started. The Tigers hoisted manager Jim Leyland to their shoulders and carried him around and player after player brought bottles of champagne out to spray the crowd in celebration. It’s a scene I’ll never forget! A scene I watched through tears, not really believing it was happening.

The Detroit Tigers, just three short years ago, were the worst team in baseball – one loss short from being the worst team EVER in baseball. But, now, in 2006, here they were, sending the Yankees packing and making reservations in Oakland to start the ALCS. All these grown men jumping around and acting like children, while at the same time there were children in the stands cheering them, their heroes. Children who never had known a winning Tigers’ team now witnessing moments they’ll never forget.

All that we’ve been waiting for but never expected. And, all that I never can truly, fully express in words. So, pictures will have to do.

Leyland the Gladiator!

A happy group!

Some bubbly!

There's a party going on right here. A celebration to last throughout the year.

We're all behind our baseball team, go get 'em Tigers!

You can't spell Citrus without U-T!

Last Thursday night, Kevin and I watched some of the South Carolina-Auburn college football game. Although South Carolina lost, we always get a kick out of watching Steve Spurrier. He's kind of an ass (OK, probably a huge ass if you play against him) and you just never know what the guy is going to say. Since Michigan fans don't have to worry about him, we just can enjoy his wit. Here are some of his many gems from over the years (note: most of these come from his time at Florida):

1. On a fire at an Auburn football dorm that destroyed 20 books – "But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet."

2. In response to the Florida State Foot Locker scandal – "You know what FSU stands for, don't you? Free Shoes University."

3. On Tennessee's frequent appearances in the Citrus Bowl (the second-place SEC bowl) in the mid 1990s – "You can't spell Citrus without U-T."

4. In a jab at former Tennessee QB Peyton Manning – "I know why Peyton came back for his senior year, he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP."

5. In yet another jab at Tennessee and in response to the following question from a South Carolina alum – "Coach, how did we beat Tennessee this year?" Spurrier's response, "The same way Vanderbilt did."

6. On not being emotional during his farewell news conference at Florida – "I guess I'm supposed to cry a lot because that's what FSU people say I do. I'm not really much of a crier. I don't get all choked up. I don't understand why they said I was crying. I guess because we only won by 24 that day." (In reference to Florida's 37-13 win over FSU in November 2001)

7. On Georgia's recruiting after a 45-13 win in 1991 over the Bulldogs – "Why is it that during recruiting season they sign all the great players, but when it comes time to play the game, we have all the great players? I don't understand that. What happens to them?"

And, one from the pro ranks, for good measure:

8. Spurrier wasted no time in hacking off half the NFL his farewell press conference at Florida when he said, "I read somewhere that (New Orleans Saints' coach) Jim Haslett gets to work at 4:30 a.m. It's not doing him any good coming in at 4:30 a.m."

Ahh, you gotta' love the Ol' Ball Coach!

Sad in the "D"

Yesterday, my entire family attended the last home game of the Detroit Tigers' baseball season. The tickets were a 35th anniversary present to my parents and it also was my sister, Erin's, birthday. And, after being in first place since May, all the Tigers needed to do was win and we, along with all of Motown, were ready to celebrate. The game started out great, with the Tigers taking a 6-0 lead, and we all were just waiting to explode. But, as has happened over the last month or so, it all started to slowly fall apart. Starter Jeremy Bonderman, who has been known to blow leads (especially 6-0 leads) blew another one and it was 6-4 before we knew it. He was pulled and reliever after reliever came in and it just kept getting worse and worse. In the end, after 12 innings and over five hours of baseball, the Tigers' lost. They lost the American League Central Division crown, they lost home field advantage in the first round and they probably lost their way right out of the playoffs as they now have to play the Yankees – the best team in baseball – in New York.

This was a gut-wrenching loss to me. The kind of loss that makes you wonder why you're a sports fan at all and why you set yourself up for this in the first place. The kind of loss that makes you cry like a 10-year old (like the little boy two rows in front of us who was crying when the Tigers lost the lead for good). I cried on the way home from the game and I cried later in the evening. It reminded me of how I used to cry after a Michigan football loss until I got used to them and just started getting mad instead. I cried because I was disappointed, because I was mad, because I was sad and because I let my guard down and believed and then it was all just taken away.

I've talked about my "history" with the Tigers before. In addition to being the only pro sports team in Detroit that I really care about, I love the Tigers because of my Dad and because when Kevin dumped me back in 1998, it was working for the Tigers and immersing myself in baseball that got me through it all. To see them do well this year and to finally get smiles instead of weird looks when I wore my Tigers' gear was so nice and so different. All they did this year was unbelievable to me but instead of focusing on that, all I can think about is what was lost yesterday. I never expected a year like this, no one in Detroit did. I never expected a meaningful baseball game to be played in August, much less September AND October. I never expected to be anywhere near first place in the very competitive and probably best division in baseball, the AL Central. But, when the Tigers roared out to that great start and took over first place in May and held on ALMOST to the end, expectations changed. No longer was an improvement good enough, no longer was just being in the playoffs good enough. No longer was going from the worst team in baseball three years ago to one of the best in baseball now good enough. Maybe it's the whole having it and losing it versus never having it at all thing. And, maybe I'm just afraid that we didn't take advantage of what we had and you never know when you're going to get that chance again. It's been 19 years since our last playoff appearance – what if it's another 19? Won't this hurt even more?

I know it's just sports and I know the sun still rose today and the earth still is spinning. But, it's rainy and grey here in Detroit today, and I'm sure the 40,000 plus fans at Comerica Park and the countless fans that watched the game on TV yesterday feel the way the weather is. I don't have much hope for a five game series against the Yankees but, then again, I didn't have much hope for the season and the Tigers proved me wrong. I hope they can do it again.

If not, though, 2006 has been a memorable summer for baseball and that's something Detroit hasn't seen in a long, long time.