I was in a meeting yesterday morning, and the topic of conversation was the playoff aspirations of the Texas Rangers. They contacted our station recently to see if we had any interest in buying playoff tickets. Of course, we hadn't budgeted for it, because back in January we thought there was a better chance of Dallas becoming its own country than the Rangers making the playoffs. So the loud foreign sales manager says, "It would be great if dey could stop dis current slide, but we know Meredith wouldn't like dat. Dose damn Red Sox!" I casually remark that it doesn't matter to me since the Red Sox are going to win the division, to which he balks and looks at me like I've just sprouted a second head right before his very eyes. "You are crazy! Da Red Sox aren't as good as da Yankees and never have been!" he says in his Balky Bartokomous-like accent. I clench my fists and tell him that this year's Yankees squad isn't nearly as good as their record indicates and that the Sox could very well overtake the division lead, given Giambi's absence and the current MFY pitching situation. "Well whad aboud all dose errors dey have?" Now completely riled up, I hold on to the edge of the conference table as to not launch myself over it, and tell him that since the Nomar trade, the team has improved significantly in terms of defense. He laughs, as only a Yankee fan can, and dismisses my claim with a shake of the head.


I take a deep breath. Here is my chance.


At that moment, all of the anger I had suppressed towards the sales department in the last 6 months filled my belly, mixing with all the horrible thoughts I had ever had about the MFY and their fans, and I exploded. For the next 3 minutes, I was Will Ferrell, blacking out and out-debating James Carville in Old School. I was disproving theories left and right, spewing facts I didn't even know I was aware of.

When the dust settled and tempers were calmed, the meeting went on as if nothing had happened. But we both knew. I knew.

In that cold conference room in an 18-story building in downtown Dallas, we were good vs evil. The rich sales manager vs the poor promotions girl. Evil Empire vs The Good Guys. For one shining moment, history was just that and the underdog was victorious.

The Red Sox are currently 5.5 games behind the Yankees. They're playing near-perfect baseball, while the Yankees are treading water and clinging to their early success.

Every dog has his day. Every underdog has his moment in the spotlight.

This year is ours.