The Cheer

It's all about the cheer -- the way something exciting happens to your team and you jump up and scream and hug the person next to you and you're all one voice, ecstatic about the same thing.

Of course, the reverse is also true when you're not on the cheering side. Then, the bottom drops out of your world for a little while. And most of the time, you lose. Obviously, you've got to endure the one to deserve the other.

Not talking just about baseball here, though this past weekend started really awful to end up all right. And it's not only sports. When you and 50,000 people sing the national anthem, or you're at a concert and you know the song and realize you and the entire rest of the audience is singing -- this is the cheer too. It is one of the most powerful emotions we have.

Teams win, teams lose, but the lasting sensation is being part of it. Plottie's cousins, who often travel the country to see their favorite bands, understand this. All of we long-suffering sports fans understand it too. You have to buy the ticket if you want to get to cheer.