A *TRUE* New York October

On the eve of the 40th World Series appearance for the New York Yankees, it finally feels like a New York October .. rain aside.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a pretty standard October: Fall is giving way to Winter. The school semester is already halfway done. Halloween is right around the corner with Thanksgiving fast approaching. Football is in full tilt and basketball is about to get underway. But something had been missing, something that had not been experienced in New York since 2003.

That something was accomplished -- finally -- on Sunday night, when Mariano Rivera struck out Gary Matthews Jr. to clinch the AL pennant.

For most other baseball fans, six years without a pennant isn't considered too long; just a winning record would leave most fan bases impressed with their respective teams. But as we all know, New York City is a completely different animal. In a city where anything less than a World Series title is considered a failure, the Yankees wilted under the pressure after Aaron Boone broke Boston's heart in that classic seven-game battle in 2003. By no means were Yankees fans the most-suffering fan base throughout this championship "drought" -- it just seemed that way because it's the New York Yankees and they play in the largest market.

No matter how anyone on the outside looks at it, things on either side of 161st St. & River Ave. had not been the same since the last pennant. You know how things went down from 2004-2008: Four playoff appearances. Three division titles. Three disappointing 1st round exits. One historic collapse. Zero American League pennants.

ZERO.

Many of the faces were different from 2003; only Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Hideki Matsui remain from the last pennant-winning Yankee team. Me-first personalities dominated the clubhouse, destroying team chemistry. Pressure from within built aggresively year after year, sometimes resulting in desperate acquisitions.

Thanks to a more relaxed clubhouse and a balanced attack, the anxiety from the players seems to be gone. A-God and CC Sabathia have all but exorcised whatever playoff demons haunted their impressive careers, the bullpen has re-emerged as a strength and the offense has shown that they can give you different looks and beat you in so many different ways. Our Yankees are destined to bring the World Series trophy back to New York. The city is buzzing over a $200 million team on the verge of adding to its rich history and at the same time erase all the horrible memories of recent playoff past.

Yup, it finally feels like a New York October. And I wouldn't want it any other way.