I loved seeing the Astros beat the Cardinals, if only because it cut through all the bullshit stories about Brad Lidge (who did have 3 saves, including 2 saves in 1-run games) and the stupid comparisons to Donnie Moore and the ‘86 Angels. (Or to BH Kim and the ‘01 D-backs.) It showed to me that momentum is overrated, that a good starting pitcher outtrumps any sort of ’team emotion’, and that any idea that the Astros’ loss in Game 5 was soul-crushing was just a nice way to tell the story of the game, rather than a reflection of the players’ own attitudes.
Hell, if the Astros players could joke about it on the flight out to St Louis (something about the charter not being able to take off because Pujols’ ball entered the airspace), they were never too concerned. I presume at least some of the Astros may have had even more devastating games growing up - disappointing their families, their friends, their schools, which in a way may be even more important than disappointing random fans of a team that one has no personal connection with - and they managed to get past that to become major leaguers.
Congrats to the ‘Stros.