Rain clicked against our fourth-floor windows, reminding everyone inside that summer has long gone. There'll be warm days, sure, but they will begin later and crisper than they used to. Our carefree summer attitudes have been replaced by the concrete grind of full workweeks and fourth-quarter deadlines. This October day, however, is unlike all the others. A city that in any other circumstance would shield itself under a warm blanket is instead parading about the soggy streets. No amount of jaw-chattering chill or haze can keep Cardinals Nation indoors.

"Great, history-making events such as these only strike once in a lifetime," my Grandfather once told me - and for a city that only two months ago believed the World Series was not only a long shot, but a fantastic dream that was fading even for diehards, this is nothing short of a miracle. It seems the entire world walked the St. Louis streets Wednesday evening. From every corner came hoots and hollers of Cardinal pride. "Go Cards!" the city shouted. On every street, red-and-white cotton or polyester shuffled frantically, hurriedly rushing to the hottest ticket of the baseball season. Cardinal pride shone amid grey plumes rising from city drains, the streets electric with anticipation. This is the type of event where CEOs and the homeless clamor together, dressed in their finest regalia, chanting in harmony. Unified by a truly American pastime.

As my Grandfather says, "It's easy to be a baseball fan on sunny days, but to have faith in your team when a Missouri storm rolls in separates a baseball fan from a Cardinals fan." I never understood my Grandfather's nostalgia for the team until I lived it for myself, and let me be the first to say, standing in a crowd surrounded by a chanting swarm of fans is an overwhelming experience, holding in it the breath of our city. It is unlike any other walk past Busch Stadium. As an onlooker, the series, the players and this game seem to measure the stability of our city, our country. No matter how grey the day, no matter how chilly and God-awful the weather, Cardinals fans stand by their team, much like the people of this nation stand by their country. The series is a nation's rally cry, recharging the American spirit. The Cardinals, much like the city they represent, are preparing to defy the odds and overcome a season of defeats.

Never doubt the tribe. Go Cards.