Walt Whitman said, “I see great things in baseball.  It’s our game – the American game.”

Just a handful of days from the culmination of a true circus production of an electoral process, thank goodness for baseball!  I think the World Series has been good for America – quite good, indeed.

I’ve not been one to follow Major League Baseball with much of a vengeance.  Quite frankly, a player strike of years past cured me of my enthusiasm.

But this has been a great story…Two clubs that have persisted for DECADES, despite repeated heartbreak and disappointment.  Dedicated fans.  One great city on Lake Michigan.  And Cleveland.

Perhaps the Series, albeit briefly, pulled us all around the tv and restored our central core of pride in “the American game.”  It was a much-needed break from current politics and dysfunction, for sure.

Sure, I rooted for the Cubbies and rooted against the Indians.  And I celebrated the Cubbies and their long-awaited win.

But I was equally impressed by the humility and polite sportsmanship of the post-game discussions.  Reciprocal admiration and encouragement was the order of the evening.  The Cubs noted the fortitude of the Indians, while the Indians called out the Cubbies and their accomplishment.  Honor, not bitterness.  Kind regard, not venom.  It was the most refreshingly civil commentary between adversaries shared on network television since mid-year conventions held in Philadelphia and, yes…Cleveland.

Indeed, we are still a people capable of competitive civility.  It occurs when we put our best players on the field and entrust their strategies to capable managers with a shared vision of a common purpose that is to the benefit of all, not one.  If only we applied the same discipline to our process of drafting our leaders.  Imagine the possibilities.

I hope there’s beer in Heaven and Harry Caray has been sippin’ since Tuesday.  If I had to guess, the Indian’s beloved “Shoeless Joe” is right there with him.  As it should be.