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Ol Abner

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Category: Playoffs

Winning: Is That It? Boston Globe Columnist Dan Shaughnessy’s Personal Evolution After the End of the Curse of the Bambino

Posted by olabner on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 in AL, Boston Red Sox, Playoffs, Research

NB: I wrote this in the fall of 2015 for a research methods class while working on a Master’s of English (Creative Writing Nonfiction emphasis) at Missouri State. I present it here with no edits except for subheadings (for easier…

The best $60 I ever spent: my view at the greatest World Series game in history

Posted by olabner on October 16, 2019July 28, 2022 in AL, Fan, MLB, NL, Playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, World Series

Behold. First published in similar form on a previous blog of mine in late October 2011. I bought a standing room only ticket for the World Series in St. Louis, arriving at noon for the 7 pm start. It was…

When I asked Howard Schultz to wait in line: a tale of baseball as a Starbucks barista, ca. 2015

Posted by olabner on February 12, 2019July 15, 2019 in NL, Playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals

Since he’s running for a president – I recall the time I met Howard Schultz: He was wearing a navy blue hat with a yellow M for Michigan, standing in line at a coffee shop.  He was about 6 foot…

I do not like them, Mary I am. I do not want the Cubs to win.

Posted by olabner on October 25, 2016April 27, 2017 in AL, NL, Playoffs

With thanks to Dr. Seuss. I AM FAN. NEW I AM. FAN. NEW FAN I AM. THAT NEW FAN! THAT CUBS FAN! WELL – I DO NOT WANT THE CUBS TO WIN. WOULD YOU LIKE THE CURSE TO END? I…

Losing in October: remember 1996

Posted by olabner on October 17, 2016April 27, 2017 in Playoffs

Really, this 1996 Cardinals team could hit because I’d seen it happen every inning before this And Dmitri Young and Brian Jordan made it 3-1 to start so it didn’t really matter if they won or lost because they would…

Cardinals Wept.

Posted by olabner on October 14, 2015April 27, 2017 in Chicago Cubs, NL, Playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis players walked toward their plane, heads down, ties around their necks. Losing is not mysterious. They did it to themselves, kicking the ball around the infield in Game 2. Their sick pitcher afflicted swaths of the Midwest with…

In the Presence of Good, Be Still: TBS Announcers Jinx Lackey’s No-Hit Bid.

Posted by olabner on October 10, 2015April 27, 2017 in Chicago Cubs, NL, Playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals

It was only in the fifth, when the game became official, that a certain announcer – who shall not be named – began to talk. It wasn’t Dennis Upperdeckersley, who has ended too many quality Cardinal pitching performances games in…

Wild Card Playoff Game Demon (A Dialogue)

Posted by olabner on September 28, 2015April 27, 2017 in Chicago Cubs, NL, Playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals

M: Moi. D: Demon. Clearly. M: Wild Card Playoff Game Demon, don’t tempt me with your ease: D: You’re already in the playoffs! Rest your starters! Eat, drink and be merry! M: Oh, I know, as sure as I know…

Does winning a World Series change your life?

Posted by olabner on March 12, 2015April 2, 2017 in Playoffs

If only my team would win at last. If something would change, I would, too. And yes, I’ve found this: Winning the World Series, or your team doing so, results in tearfully running by the center field gate. Shrieking while…

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