I can't believe I'm writing another post about baseball. But here I go. The Red Sox beat the Yankees last night and are going to the World Series. I could go on about the revelry in the streets last night, or how everyone at HLS who owns a Red Sox hat is wearing it today, or even how great it was to see the disgusted Yankee faces on TV last night.

But the most interesting aspect of all of this is that I care. I really do. Last night, Shelly took me in the car (after I had put on my PJs) to run an errand. She said her brother had called to tell her the Sox were up 6-0. We turned on the radio. I actually listened to it intently. Then, we drove past the home of our friends Aaron and Michelle, who had invited Shelly over to watch the game, and we thought, "Should we stop, or just go home as planned?" I considered for a moment, and was surprised to learn that I really truly wanted to stop and watch the game. Let me repeat that. I, Matt couldn't-care-less-about-baseball Astle, wanted to go out of my way to watch a baseball game on TV.

Sure, a lot of it was the excitement of Game 7, and the unbelievability of the Sox pulling off one of the biggest comebacks in sports history. But I had been drawn in. I had a team; I think that was the biggest factor in it. I care deeply about the NBA because I root so hard for the Jazz, and I care deeply about college football because I root so hard for BYU and so hard against the BCS. I don't have an NFL or NHL team, so I don't care so much about them. Once you pick a team, you have a vested interest, and the whole sport becomes exciting to you. So I'm a Red Sox fan now. I'm not sure that means I'll be following the MLB season next year, but I will be following the World Series.

Of course, none of this means I think they'll actually win the World Series. They may have beaten the Yankees, but the Bambino still has Boston's number.