TEMPE, Ariz. – The look on Brittan Golden's face Wednesday afternoon said it all.
He was nervous.
A few hours after the Arizona Cardinals finished practice, the Houston Astros would take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, and Golden, who lives in the Houston suburb of Katy, was both anxious and eager.
"We were banking on that Game 6," Golden told ESPN. "This can be big tonight. [Houston starting pitcher Lance] McCullers is going to have to go at least five innings. He's going to have to. The good thing is they have [Dallas] Keuchel available, but on the flip side so is [Dodgers ace Clayton] Kershaw.
"We'll see how it rolls."
Golden went to Game 3 in Houston during the Cardinals' bye week. He watched McCullers out pitch Yu Darvish in a 5-3 Astros win from 25 rows behind the third-base line. Minute Maid Park was "rocking," Golden said.
"You're literally standing up for four hours. Nobody sits down," he said. "You got to a baseball game, you're expecting, ‘We're batting, OK, we'll stand.' When we're in the field, nobody sits down. Towels are waving, people are excited. Just the buzz in there is electric."
Golden's seats for Wednesday's deciding game won't be as good. He expected to be home by first pitch at 8:20 p.m. ET -- 5:20 p.m. in Arizona. He saw first-hand how Houston has got behind the Astros.
Golden grew up a "huge" Craig Biggio fan. Golden played both second base, like Biggio, and shortstop. His uncle was a Texas Rangers fan so Golden watched both teams as a kid. But on Wednesday, only one team in Texas will matter.
A championship, which would be the Astros' first, would mean more than just a trophy to Houston, Golden said.
"When I went home, going downtown, every building has Astros in it or is lit up in orange," Golden said. "The city of Houston is loving it and it'd be huge for them to come with Game 7 win.
"It'll do so much for the city specially after [Hurricane] Harvey came through. It just gives people hope."
