Fall is the best season; that goes without saying.  It carries a feeling of crispness, a smell of growth, a color of change and progression.

This fall, my 39th, holds another bit of magic this year, a magic that I have experienced 8 times in my life.

The playoffs are underway and the Phillies are in them.

One year ago I wrote about the magic of watching my team return to post season for the first time in 14 years.  Yesterday they took it a step further, by winning their first playoff game in 15 years.

I have tickets at my disposal for any of the post-season games that I can attend, but so far, work has interfered with the fun.  But, my job being somewhat unusual, allows us all to watch the games at our desks, and I’ve tuned in one of the big screens across the room.

And that’s where the playoff magic really comes alive.  I have long written and talked about the ability of sports to bring people, strangers together.  Here in the newsroom, we aren’t strangers, but it is still something special to watch everyone huddle around a television to cheer and groan in unison.

On a normal evening, the newsroom clears out quickly between 6:30 and 6:45.  Tonight, however, the Phillies were making some ground in the bottom of the second inning.  One person after another pulled on their jacket, glanced at the situation, and decided to stick around a little bit.  They made it more social too, pulling up chairs to desks to share TVs, rather than sitting alone.

First pitcher Brett Myers, not always a fan favorite, had a most impressive at bat, not just for a pitcher, but for anyone facing one of the league’s top pitchers.  When he made it to base, there you could hear “Yes” cautiously declared across the room.

Then Shane Victorino came to the plate.  He didn’t stay long as he hit his first career grand slam.  The newsroom erupted, high fives for everyone, even the people who don’t normally care as much.  And that’s ok, because the spirit of the playoffs can be shared with everyone.

In our case, we can’t be at the ballpark tonight, but we’re screaming and yelling and hooting and booing as if we were.

That’s the magic of it all.