In case you didn’t know, the Dodgers are currently in the World Series for the first time since 1988.

Never in my life have the Dodgers been in the series. I’m going to start this article off with full disclosure: there once was a time many, many years ago when I was not a Dodger fan. As a child, I did not understand the importance of hometown loyalty. At the age of seven, my aunt married into our family and was a devout Boston Red Sox fan. This entailed the entire family going to a Sox game three days before my aunt and uncle’s wedding, and getting to go to almost every Red Sox game they had in LA for the next few years. It was pretty fun, I’m not going to lie, and still to this day I have all the respect in the world for the Sox and their franchise.

Truthfully, as a child I wasn’t all that invested in baseball and was more of a “fan” than a real lover of the game. I didn’t follow any team religiously, or make it a point to plan my day around game time. But as the saying goes, “with age comes wisdom.” While I’m not sure that I can say that for every aspect of my life, this is one area that I have attained such wisdom and I’ve come to see the truth.

A little background: My family is about as “die-hard Dodger” as it gets. My Papa, aka the best person I know, played baseball at UCLA and later for the army. He loves baseball almost as much as his six kids, fourteen grand-kids, and one great-grandchild, and I am still a firm believer that one of the reasons he and my Nana got along so great for 55 years is because when it wasn’t baseball season, it was spring training, and the off-season is the holiday season (and what’s not to like about that). Basically as love-filled as their marriage was, at the center of it was faith, the ring around that center was family, and very close to family came Dodger baseball. My mom still remembers at an early age waiting for my Nana to go on her walks with something called a transistor radio (still have no idea what that is) for the game to start and my mom tagging along on her walks so they could listen to the game together. Growing up, as my loyalties were faltering, my Nana used to tell me to stare down at my veins and tell her what color they were: “blue!” she would yell. “You bleed Dodger blue because just like the color of your veins, this family’s love for the Dodgers is never going to change.” I half-laugh, half-cry when I think back to those days because I really hope she knows now looking down from heaven that I got my head on straight and figured out what is really important in life.

Then you have the other side of my family. My father's family immigrated to the United States from Mexico mainly during the 1960’s and 70’s. My family is one of my main sources of inspiration and I attribute my work ethic to everything that they sacrificed for me to be here and the immense amount of work that they put in to have the family that we do today. My dad’s immediate family consists of my abuelita and her 12 siblings. I still don’t know how many cousins I have, but our huge Mexican family is filled with an undeniable love that has made me the person I am today. The Dodgers also cross over this aspect of my family as well. Many of my tios don’t speak perfect English, but they are incredibly amazing, hard-working men and they all proudly wear their LA Dodger hats almost everywhere they go. My abuelito, who is one of the biggest reasons I can sit here today writing this article with the blessed life I have, is so proud of the fact that one of the “Dodger Greats” is Fernando Valenzuela and our home country pride took center stage during the 80’s and now he gets to watch Adrian Gonzalez represent a new generation of Mexican-Americans on the field.

On a less personal level, the Dodgers franchise is one of diversity and inclusiveness, just like the City of Angels. We were the first team to have an African American player with Jackie Robinson playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947-1957 where the Dodgers were catalysts in professional sport racial barriers to be broken. It was hard not to get choked up as his widow Rachel Robinson threw the first pitch in Game 1 of the Series. He had to endure so much hate and racial prejudice yet he endured and persevered above it all. Jackie Robinson wasn’t the only major first for the Dodgers. The Dodgers other notable firsts include the first MLB team to allow a female reporter in the locker room for a post game interview, and the first MLB team to employ a female lead trainer. We are a team that mirrors the city that it calls home. Los Angeles is a city of diversity and acceptance, and whether you pronounce it, “The Dodgers or Los Doyers,” this is our team and through the good and the bad LA has always been proud to call the Dodgers ours. This component adds to my love for the team- we see talent regardless of who you are and where you came from.

Additionally, there is one of the few men that I will start crying just thinking about- Vin Scully started with the Dodgers in Brooklyn in 1950 and has never left despite his retirement last year. Honestly, I don’t know what it is that gets me so emotional over this hero of mine. Maybe it’s the fact that since my mom was born she has listened to his voice on the radio or the fact that my Nana, the biggest Dodger fan I will ever meet regarded Vinny as being only a few steps below Jesus Christ. Or perhaps maybe it's the many. many stories I’ve heard about his dedication to his faith and his family, or when I think about the fact he has been so present in our family’s life just with his announcing of a baseball game. The Dodgers are the team that they are in part thanks to Vinny.

It’s all of these reasons that I sat and thought about last Thursday as my mom and I sat at game five against the Cubs at Wrigley field. By happy accident or divine providence (take your pick) we had scheduled to be in Chicago for my fall break when my amazing dad who wasn’t on the trip was able to score field level tickets to the clinching game. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe what being at the game and watching the Dodgers crush the Cubs and clinch the NLCS title felt like. As my mom and I stood around and did happy dances with all other LA fans in attendance, I couldn’t help but stop and think about what an amazing team this is. Win or lose, I am so proud to be a Dodgers fan not because we’re a winning team, or because we’re a team of firsts, but because this team represents everything that I hold most dear. My hometown LA, its people, and most of all the Dodgers represent what I love most about my family. My family’s dedication and work ethic, it’s loyalty to each other and to the team we love most, and above all, the passion that springs forth when you bleed Dodger blue.