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TERRY BRADSHAW ON PIRATES–PADRES, GAME 1
“Well hey everybody, lemme tell ya somethin’ — I don’t know what kinda baseball y’all are watchin’, but this one out in San Diego? WOOOOO buddy, that was a rodeo. Balls flyin’ everywhere, pitchers sweatin’, defense lookin’ like they’d never seen a baseball before — I LOVED IT.”
“Pittsburgh walks in there like they OWN the place — score three in the first, two more in the second, and I’m sittin’ there thinkin’, ‘Well shoot, game’s over!’ But no sir, no sir, this is the Wild Card, baby, and in the Wild Card we get absolute chaos.”
“Juan Rivera? Oh boy, he comes up in the first inning, BAM, 2-run homer, lookin’ like he’s tryin’ to put that baseball into the Pacific Ocean. And then the Pirates just keep on hittin’ — Verni, Ortega, Pitre — everybody’s gettin’ in on it. I ain’t seen that many doubles since my days callin’ Steelers training camp and watchin’ the big boys eat.”
“But listen — San Diego didn’t go down easy. Chris Smith? Y’all, this dude was hotter than a two-dollar pistol. Two home runs, a triple, three runs scored, four RBI — heck, at one point I thought the Padres should just let him bat every inning. Pirates pitchers were lookin’ around like, ‘Someone please get this man out!’ And he says, ‘NOPE!’ and hits another one.”
“And poor T. Loder for Pittsburgh — guy gives up ten hits, seven runs, and STILL gets the win! That’s how wild this game was. I mean, I’ve seen some lucky quarterbacks in my life — including myself, thank ya very much — but that right there was somethin’ else.”
“Padres make it spicy late, score four in the eighth, three in the ninth, fans start hootin’ and hollerin’, and I’m thinkin’ ‘Ohhhh baby, we got a comeback!’ But no — Pirates hold on, 13–10, and they take a 1–0 lead in the series.”
“Game 2 is tomorrow, and lemme tell ya somethin’: if it’s ANYTHING like today, you better buckle up, put the kids to bed, and check your blood pressure, because this is WILD CARD BASEBALL, BABY! I LOVE IT!”
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