Dane Cook has said it — over and over again — there is, in fact, only one October. Unfortunately, it was not so for the Milwaukee Brewers this year. After a promising start 24-10 that was best in the majors at that point, Milwaukee failed to keep pace and coughed up what once was an 8 1/2 game stranglehold on the NL Central. But I’m not here to dredge up old nightmares for you Brewer fans. I’m here to thank you, from the bottom of my baseball-lovin’ heart. Let me take you back here. Late in September, the San Diego Padres came into Miller Park for a season-ending series of four games, and quickly ended any playoff aspirations in Cheeseland with two straight wins. But the baby Brew Crew would not go down fighting. One Saturday night, with the Brewers eliminated and the state’s attention solely on the football Badgers’ Saturday night showdown with Iowa, the Pads’ Trevor Hoffman needed just one more strike to beat Milwaukee and send San Diego to the playoffs. Then, well, you know the rest. Tony Gwynn Jr. ties the game against his dad’s old team with a triple, Milwaukee wins the game in extras, then overcomes a 3-0 deficit the next day to defeat the Friars and send them to a one-game tiebreak game. This is where my sincere thanks to all you Brewer fans comes in. Thanks to a Milwaukee team that played only for pride, San Diego had to put those postseason plans on hold and flew to Denver, where my white-hot Colorado Rockies — yes, there is a MLB team in the Mile High City and has been for awhile — dispatched the Padres with a 13th-inning comeback against Hoffman. Rockies in, Padres out. You stay classy, San Diego. Now even if you’ve missed what’s happened since — I mean, I wouldn’t blame you with games starting close to 10 p.m. and being broadcast on TBS, of all channels — the Rox have continued their historic tear, sweeping away the Phillies and Diamondbacks en route to their first World Series. The month of Rocktober has been an absolutely surreal ride, with Colorado rolling off 21 of 22 wins, making like Average Joe’s Gym and becoming the greatest underdog story ever told. I’ll never forget that 13th inning against the Padres — when San Diego handed over an 8-6 lead to Hoffman, the all-time saves leader. It was easily the greatest up-and-down 10 minutes of my life. In that short time span, I went from staring at the ground, all hope lost, close to tears … to jumping literally off the walls, screaming my head off, close to tears. It’s been an amazing ride. For every big win, I’ve had to don one of my three Rockies shirts, which means I’ve probably worn purple far more consistently than any man should (with respect to the Vikings, Northwestern and three-fifths the NBA’s Pacific Division). And I’ve never really been a facial hair guy. However, the last time I shaved was the night of Colorado’s last loss — the only setback in the last 22 games and 33 days. It’s a deal: The Rox refuse to lose, I refuse to reach for my razor. So at this point, before the Rockies take on the Indians or Red Sox in their first ever World Series, I feel inclined to take this opportunity and tell you Brewer fans how much we Rockie fans appreciate that effort way back when against the Padres. None of this would have happened without it. I’ll also offer my condolences on how the season went for you guys. To be totally honest, throughout the summer, I was pulling for a Brewers-Rockies playoff series. That would have been SWEET. I’ve also been incredibly impressed with the undying support for the Brewers from UW-Madison students. For whatever reason, before my midterm Wednesday, I noticed about eight Brewer shirts or hats being worn in class. And the season ended three weeks ago! Remarkable. They say the Rockies and Diamondbacks, this year’s NLCS teams, will be around in playoff hunts for years to come. Hopefully, the young core of Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, Yovani Gallardo (impressed? I didn’t even have to Google that) and all the other Brewers will be players in October next year as well. And if that’s not enough for you, good people of Wisconsin, at least you have some old guy named Brett and the upstart Green Bay Packers. It’s not like Denver has a football team or anything… They tell me a team named the Broncos used to play there, but I can’t seem to recall anything about that. Aaron is a junior majoring in journalism who dearly misses the Thursday column for the Badger Herald. I”m sure my (cough) readers miss me (cough) just as much. If you really want a thank-you card for the Brewers” efforts, contact him at [email protected].