the fat lady looks pissed

once again, this just wasn't our year. the dodgers quietly disappeared from the pennant race without a peep, and although I may bleed dodger blue, I'm still disappointed we didn't do more to make it happen. of course, as a third generation dodger fan, I have a right to be pissed at the dodgers (and jamie mccourt - remind me again why you need to spend $150,000 on haircuts?).

to be honest, I can't really say where we went wrong. as a displaced baseball fan living in Hawaii, I spent much of the season watching the games from the comfort of 24-hour fitness, where I engaged in pre-workout stretching routines while simultaneously cursing the hearing-impaired telecast (half the people at the gym must think I have tourette's). "shit" and "holy crap" are two phrases used by every LA fan, including myself. whether it's "shit, that should have been an out," or "holy crap, russell martin has a nice ass," this is the chosen vocabulary of every true blue dodger fan. however, while my mom prefers to give each player a unique nickname like "gribbens" (his actual name is gibbons), my grandma loved to use the expression "hot damn!" every time there was a good play or a home run. thankfully, mimi wasn't around to witness the ridiculousness of this season, but I'm hoping she managed to get herself into the locker room nonetheless.

even as a young adult, the dodgers have remained an integral part of my summer routine. I look forward to the spring, and dread october. when dodger season ends, a little part of my soul dies. I know that's crazy to say, but it's true! I've grown up with the dodgers, I consider vin scully my guru, and have witnessed some of the most exciting games in history (ok ok, so I may have been driving back up to LA for the game with the 4 back-to-back homers, BUT my mom and dad were at the kirk gibson home-run game!). my mom, grandma, and sister are all big-time dodger fans. but even hardcore dodger fans need to prove themselves sometimes. so, whether that means reciting the name and position of all the players with a retired number (yes, my mom can do it), or coming up with answers to ridiculous questions like "what dodger fan would you take camping?" (casey blake, duh), dodger fans are a unique breed. who else would come to a game knowing full well that when it's time to leave they'll have to sit in a 2-hour traffic jam just to get outside the stadium? I may not be proud of the dodgers this season, but I'm proud to be a dodger fan.

although I've still never been on "dodger vision" (cross your fingers), going to the stadium was and still is my favorite summer tradition. sadly, I didn't get to go to a single game this year (and I didn't get to eat a dodger dog either). according to my theories on superstition, that could be the reason we didn't make it to the playoffs (I'm just saying there's a possibility!). of course I wouldn't be a true baseball fan if I didn't evoke the age old adage voiced by so many loser teams come september...

...there's always next year.