BE IN IT

Well, he did it. He tied the record. What can I say.

I was impressed at how respectful the crowd was in San Diego. There was no way that would have happened here in Los Angeles. In fact, I pretty much figured he would get intentionally walked at all his at bats, in L.A.

Either way, one more to go, and then this will just be another stat in the books, eventually, with an asterisk.

I get all smarmy about sports records and stuff. I was lucky enough to be at the Forum when Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's all time goals scored record, and that was awesome. Hats off to the fans that got their money's worth last night.

And it was infused with the crowd's collective urge just to see it go down, too. Call it car-crash rubbernecking mixed with grudging respect. Call it the basic human impulse to witness something singular. Call it the boastful desire to tell friends you were here. Call it an intoxicating cocktail of judgment and admiration. Call it being a fan, the thing reduced to its excitable and sometimes contradictory essence. See the hitter, boo the hitter, see the home run, cheer the home run, get swept up, see the thing in context, rejoice and react, be many things all at once, be here, be in it.

Yeah, be in it.