Secondhand Sun

DC United lost to New England in the Eastern Conference Final last night, and I'm far more disappointed - crushed, even - than I ever expected to be. I woke up this morning too miserable even to give Anna a game report the way I usually do first thing. She's got a lot of empathy for a five-year-old; I think she caught on pretty quickly that I was upset about the loss, and left it be. She's a good kid. I gave her the report at bedtime, with full props to Twellman for his goal (and leaving out the saltier editorial comments; she is only five) and the tale of how the stunned crowd came alive again, in fits and starts; how Ben Olsen, as always, never ever quit; how Freddy almost scored. Over and over again someone almost scored, but it never happened. "That's really sad!" Anna said. Yes, yes, I agreed; I told her how much I'd wanted to see us play for the MLS Cup. That wasn't what she meant, though: "Now there won't be any more games until spring!" A child after my own heart. No, there won't, and that's sad too - but, I explained, we do get to start earlier than the other teams because we're playing in the CONCACAF tournament. Apparently "CONCACAF" is a funny enough sounding word to cheer up a five-year-old. Would that it worked on me.

But tomorrow is Election Day. In a way, it's like that scene from the movie Fever Pitch, when the Hornby character consoles one of the students on the soccer team he coaches after the kid just missed a PK that lost the game for his team.

Paul Ashworth: If you had to choose between winning this afternoon and Arsenal winning tomorrow night, what would you go for?
Robert: Tomorrow night of course!
Paul Ashworth: There you go then.
Robert: What, you're telling me, Arsenal are gonna win two nil at Anfield?
Paul Ashworth: I can't promise, can I? Well, there's a chance isn't there? You've done your bit, you've missed the penalty. If that's what it takes then it'll be worth it.
Robert: Yeah, course.

If I had to choose between DC United winning the MLS Cup and the Democrats taking back Congress tomorrow, my answer would come just as easily - tomorrow, of course! And, United's done their bit; they got knocked out of the final, so...

So I'm going to go to bed, because I'll be up at 4:30 am tomorrow, if I sleep at all. My volunteers are all confirmed, the car is packed with all my supplies, and I'm jumpier than... something very, very jumpy. The jumpiest thing you can think of. I'm jumpier than that.

Election Day is tomorrow! And tomorrow, we shall see.