There is a certain alchemy that comes with the simultaneous experiences of being in middle school—the formative years of many people's sports fandom—and watching postseason baseball.
Why do New York's elders worship the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers? Why do their Gen-Xers adore the 1986 New York Mets? Why are the 2004 Boston Red Sox beloved by Massachusetts's millennials?
The answer can be found in this video that circulated on social media Thursday evening, after the Cleveland Guardians beat the New York Yankees 7–5 in a mesmerizing Game 3 of the ALCS.
According to Tiffany Valentin, who tweeted the video, the middle school students of Amherst, Ohio—a small city about 30 miles west of Cleveland—are currently on a field trip to Washington, D.C. While at a Dave and Buster's, the students watched pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel tie the game in the ninth inning with a towering two-run home run—and went completely and utterly berserk.
Amherst (OHIO) Junior High 8th graders are on their trip to Washington DC. They caught the big home run at Dave & Busters they shook the place up ! @CleGuardians @AlPawlowski @AJHComets @TheCometSuper pic.twitter.com/x9EpxTzzgB
— Tiffany Valentin (@TVal1318) October 18, 2024
Regardless of how the ALCS pans out for the Guardians—who still trail the series 2–1 after designated hitter David Fry's walk-off home run in the 10th inning—these students will have a memory to last a lifetime. Greatness plus timing equals immortality.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Video of Young Guardians Fans on Field Trip Reacting to Game-Tying Homer Is Priceless.
