So we’re closing in on the first Tigers’ World Series appearance since I was 3 years old and I can’t even begin to share with you all how excited I am, first and foremost to watch my hometown team shatter expectations, but also that I’ve snagged tickets to all four games at Comerica Park. Some of you may need a little update about who I am and why I’m blogging, so here’s the scoop. I’ll try to be as brief as possible, but it’s never been one of my finer points:

Like my site description reads, I’m 25 years old, an associate reporter for MLB.com and a lifelong Tigers fan. I was three when they won their last World Series and sitting in an obstructed view seat in the outfield at Tiger Stadium, I jeopardized my college career by attending 44 home games the year they lost 119, I got a Tigers tattoo on my 18th birthday…in short, I’ve got all the prerequisites of a fan who’s been there through it all.

My whole existence has revolved around baseball, so it was only natural in 2006 when I was offered an internship with MLB.com to cover the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, I packed up the truck and headed south. At the end of the regular season, after I was sure Detroit would be in the playoffs, I begged my boss to let me blog as I left Florida and traveled around the country stopping at various Tigers-related destinations along the way, with games in Oakland, New York and Detroit being my final destinations. For me, it was an excuse to take the greatest road trip ever — Ty Cobb’s hometown, the field in Alabama where Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker first played in the middle, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Mark Fidrych’s home town, etc.

Except like most things in my life, a ***** twist of fate brought an end to my grand idea:

I’m at home getting ready to leave on my last night out before the Big Trip. I’m at the top of my stairs and looking at shoes at the bottom, when….

tumble
  tumble
    tumble
      tumble
        tumble
          tumble
            tumble
              tumble

Yes. Because I’m blessed with, among other things, amazing balance, I fell down not one or two stairs, but nine out of the maximum allowable 12. And I somehow managed to get my left foot stuck on the wall about halfway down that twisted my knee at a grotesque angle. HOT. I sat there for a minute, sort of shocked by my own stupidity, and then stood up and kicked my right leg. Fine there. Left leg? OUCH…but still, not enough to keep me away from a night on the town. I strapped myself into a pair of heels and hit the road.

I’m having a conversation with my mom as I pull up at the bar and hobble down the block, and because my latest "stupid" strikes me particularly funny, I mention my little trip down the stairs. "I’m just glad it’s not hurt," I say. She makes a comment that heels probably aren’t helping, and we end it. Had drinks, came home and iced my knee, stretched it out a few times, and fell asleep until about 5 a.m.

That’s when I awoke to someone with a gun in my living room, a man who then shot me in the knee. At least that’s what it felt like. For the next 6 hours I prayed for sleep, that the pain would disappear and that, above all else, this would not interfere with the Ultimate Tigers Roadtrip scheduled to begin that weekend.

At 11 a.m. I began calling everyone in Florida that I know to see if they can take me to the doctor/hospital/exorcist, because I can’t walk enough to get off the couch, let alone make it down three flights of stairs and across a parking lot. Of course, no one’s around, so an hour later I tied a pair of yoga pants as tight as I can around my knee, crawl on all "threes" to my car and head to the emergency room.

I tore my MCL and likely need surgery. Two days before my Ultimate Road Trip is set to begin. 48 hours before I plan on spending the next 10 straight days in a teeny-weeny rental car. If you never thought the baseball gods were against me before, I’ll give you a moment to consider changing your alliances.

I spent the rest of the day trying to convince my doctor that I’m perfectly able not only to drive a car, but to spend 80+ hours in one the size of a Segueway while wearing a knee immobilizer as big as a Cadillac.

He didn’t buy it, so the road trip was a wash. But I wasn’t about to let something small like not being able to walk stop me from watching the Tigers make a run…

Well the NL game’s on now, so I should get started cheering for St. Louis, but in the meantime, feel free to check out my photo albums, I’ve added playoff pics there. We’ll fast-forward to the ALDS/ALCS when I return…