For four hours last night, campus shut down as students crowded into lounges, basements and restaurants to watch the closest thing the region has to a home team vie for a World Series berth.
An eleventh inning lead-off home run off the bat of New York Yankees third-baseman Aaron Boone brought those hopes to the ground. The Yankees took the American League pennant on a final score of 6-5.
In the Collis Center, one Boston Red Sox fan cried.
"It's a horrible day for baseball," said another, Alison Riep '07. She spoke not only of the Red Sox's loss, but also of the ramifications for a World Series that will pit the Yankees against the Florida Marlins.
Dartmouth's sizable contingent of New York fans, however, saw things differently.
"I couldn't feel better," said Adam Shpeen '07, who ran barefoot from Gile Hall to Collis to celebrate the Yankees' victory. "It was predictable, and it was exciting 'til the end, but the Yankees do it every time."
Crowds of Red Sox fans walked sullenly out of Collis, but a few took solace in the excitement and tense play that marked the seven-game ALCS.
"I thought that it was a good effort, and it was so amazing for them to make it this far," said Red Sox fan Paul Wright '07.
Boston took an early lead, with three runs in the second inning off the strength of right-fielder Trot Nixon's two-run homer. In the hostile confines of Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox held onto that lead through seven innings.
Then, as the Yankees trailed 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth, a three-run New York rally set the hometown crowd afire.
Red Sox fans lamented the decision to leave in pitcher Pedro Martinez as the Yankees began bringing in runs.
"I feel like we gave the game away," said Matt Bank '04 as he watched the final inning at Psi Upsilon fraternity.
The moment echoed game six of the National League Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs also stood just five outs away from a trip to the World Series, an appearance that would have been their first in 58 years.
The Yankees will face the Florida Marlins for game one of the World Series in New York on Saturday. It is the Yankees 39th American League Pennant, and their fifth in six years.
