Advertisement
However, in all fairness, if I’m going to point out the fact that the Loggers were a little late getting into the game today I should admit just how late I was. About five years.
 |
Dave Myers, La Crosse Tribune sports writer |
Sunday’s was the first Loggers game I have been to. This is particularly embarrassing considering I am not only a sportswriter, but also a big sports fan.
I don’t have an excuse.
It hasn’t been a big political statement on my part or my way of railing against baseball. I haven’t been trapped underneath anything heavy or anything else that might impede my movement or ability to attend a baseball game.
I just haven’t gone.
Now that that’s out of the way, back to the Loggers.
Part of the reason for the slow start can hardly be blamed on the players. Before the game started there was nothing but 1970s and ’80s music playing over the PA system. I am clearly not an expert, but I don’t think Kool & the Gang is considered cool anymore. At least not by people as young as the Loggers players.
It is my contention that listening to “Celebration” or “Mr. Roboto” or whatever else the players were subjected to left them feeling disoriented and confused.
For three and half innings the Loggers stumbled and bumbled their way to a 13-0 deficit.
They came out with a sense of urgency that is normally reserved for exhibition football or perhaps a rousing game of checkers.
A comeback for the Loggers seemed about as likely as a comeback for parachute pants.
Well my prognostication abilities are as finely honed as my fashion sense (I hung onto the parachute pants).
There was a comeback. Not a comeback that resulted in a victory for the Loggers, but the kind of rally at home that makes you proud of your team and your fans.
It started in the bottom of the fourth. The Loggers scored their first run of the game on a fielder’s choice making the score 13-1. The typical response would be polite applause. What happened was an eruption of cheering. There literally were people dancing in the aisle eight feet in front of me.
This was just the beginning. Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning the Loggers were trailing 14-2. It’s pretty easy to start mailing it in at this point.
That clearly is not what the Loggers had in mind. La Crosse exploded for eight runs in their half of the inning to close the gap to 14-10. The inning was highlighted by first baseman Derek Melton’s hellacious grand slam.
Melton hit that ball so hard I’d bet it made the other baseballs at Copeland Park flinch.
Eventually the Loggers climbed within two runs of the lead, but in the end it wasn’t enough as the Express went on to win 16-12.
While the Loggers came up short this time, I’m certain that Loggers manager Andy McKay is feeling pretty good about the kind of moxie his team showed in battling back from 13 runs down.
That is the kind of moxie that is definitely going to bring me back to Copeland Park.
And just imagine what those players could accomplish if they would lose the Kool & the Gang.
