A friend from out of town called yesterday afternoon and asked how Brewers fans were reacting in light of the team's recent slump and the series opening loss to Philadelphia.

"Are they freaking out?" he asked.

"You bet," I answered. "But, it's nothing new. They've been freaking out since May."

He asked what I meant, but I didn't have time to explain. I'll give it a shot now, but I'm not sure if I have the words.

A baseball pennant race is a rollercoaster ride. It's an E-ticket event filled with ups, downs, twists and turns that leaves you feeling nauseous, scared and exhilarated -- all at the same time.

At most theme parks, the ride lasts less than two minutes. When it's over, you realize that the vertical loops and G-force thrills were fun, but it was the preliminaries -- the drive in to the complex, the walk through the parking lot, the admission gate and the line -- were actually the parts to be savored.

Ask yourself this, Brewers fans: Have you enjoyed the preliminaries?

You and your team have reached the front of the line. Everyone is settling into place and the attendant is about to pull down the harness and flip the switch.

There are 15 games left in the season. The Brewers are struggling. That can't be argued. They've lost eight of their last 11 games and watched a once-comfortable wild-card lead dwindle to a scant three games while the Phillies, Astros and Cardinals put the paddles to seasons that were once on life support.

The Brewers' offense looks comatose and the back end of their bullpen should come with air sickness bags. They haven't looked like a playoff team in the past two weeks, but they have a three-game lead with 15 to play and are tantalizingly close to spraying champagne for the first time in more than a quarter-century.

This is it, Brewers fans. You've waited for this moment for a season, a decade, some of you have been waiting a lifetime for this opportunity...

And you're blowing it.

That's right.

Some of you, at least, are blowing it.

You think the Brewers look nervous and uncomfortable? You think they're choking down the stretch and squandering a golden opportunity?

Look in the mirror.

If you are letting feelings of gloom, doom and, in some cases, anger cloud the way you're experiencing this period in Brewers history, you are making a mistake.

Talk about role reversal ... A sportswriter is telling fans that they are too jaded. I can sense the angry Talkbacks coming already: Stop being a homer, Drew; Come down from the press box and get off your soapbox, because you don't understand what it means to be a fan...

I can't counter that last charge. I was neutered as a fan long ago in a quest to provide accurate and unbiased reports on the teams I was assigned to cover.

Though I don't have a specific beat any more, I still love to follow the stories. A baseball season is a novel with 162 chapters. I may not live and die with the wins and losses like a "normal" fan, but it seems to me that the definition of "normal" has changed over the years.

I talked to one seemingly normal fan the other day that got so upset when the Brewers left runners in scoring position in the third inning of a recent game that he turned off his TV in disgust.

Now, it's OK to be nervous and emotional when watching your favorite team. But, you waited 26 years for meaningful baseball in September and you can't watch? Great move, Einstein.

Then, there was the guy who told me that he was pulling for the Brewers to miss the playoffs because he can't stand manager Ned Yost and wants him fired.

This guy listed 15 games that he felt Yost torpedoed with rock-headed decisions about pulling starters, leaving starters in too long, bringing in Eric Gagne and starting Bill Hall over Craig Counsell and Mat Gamel.

I asked him if he had enjoyed watching the Brewers the past five months. I asked for his top five favorite moments. He thought about it for a moment, mentioned a few exciting games he had watched or attended, including one that Gabe Kapler won with a walk-off homer, and then said "I'd have enjoyed this season more if it wasn't for Ned."

That pretty much ended any chance for a rational conversation.

But, I wondered how that fan -- and many like him -- will react if the Brewers actually do clinch a playoff berth.

Will he feel unbridled joy?

Will he dance in the streets and high-five total strangers?

Or, will he rush to be the first on his block to predict imminent doom in the form of a first-round three-and-out?

Will he and other fans let bitterness overshadow the thrill of the moment, like a lottery winner who complains about paying taxes on his winnings?

Speaking of bitterness ...

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