By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Time’s relentless march now blows us into the cold days of autumn. Days that grow short as the nights grow cold. The leaves turn and the harvest comes in and frost thickens on fields laid bare. The fun of summer becomes as distant as the spring that preceded it.

We are now in the best month of the year for sports.

The story of the football season has begun to be told but every team still has a say in its destiny. Quarterbacks scramble like the black cats that dance along cemetery fences. Anything is still possible.

Baseball now gets very serious. The playoffs are upon us, and the end of the month will crown the World Series champion. For one month, America watches its national pastime. For one month, everyone cares about baseball.

Basketball and hockey enter the time of fresh beginnings. Fans recite contradicting prophecies in every town and city across the country, saying “This is our year.” Ultimately, the year only belongs to one team. But for the NHL and the NBA, this month belongs to all.

For rodeo fans, the PBR World Finals comes in November. Bull riders on the cusp fight to qualify for Vegas. The million-dollar, gold buckle payday is just beyond the wicked grin of the jack o’lantern.

Wolves howl and bats screech. Witches cackle and farmers buck hay. Students study and the ghosts rattle chains.

Welcome to October. Let’s play ball.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu