There is nothing like following your favorite baseball team throughout the warm and relaxing summer season. Most baseball fans were fortunate in there weren’t many rain-outs to deal with this summer. Of course, many of us also barely had any shower water, but baseball season isn’t about which players and fans can stay the cleanest.

For many of us baseball fanatics in the Northeast, we have endured the intense summer sun and returned to GW in the midst of our respective teams’ playoff drives. And suddenly, it seems the baseball play-by-play Internet updates might be the world’s most essential resource.

A few weeks ago, I had anticipated this bittersweet feeling, thinking that when I returned to school, my Philadelphia Phillies would still be in a race for a playoff spot. I thought how excited I would be that finally my Phillies were showing some real promise come the stretch-run.

And then I envisioned how annoyed I would be, returning to school in the midst of this race knowing the difficulty of truly following a Philadelphia team in Washington. But my wonderful ballclub didn’t want to see me suffer down the stretch. They didn’t want me to waste valuable college time trying to find a television screen that showed their games. So they decided to make it easy on me and just fade away come August.

But such is not the case for many other teams who are each represented by large contingents here at GW. Therefore, as a public service to all fans with contending teams, let me explain why entering college this year won’t take away from the excitement that has built up throughout the summer.

First, there’s always Fox baseball on Saturdays for any fan who just wants to turn on the television and watch a game. More specifically, now that most of us at GW have cable, it shouldn’t be too difficult to catch an occasional Chicago Cubs’ game on WGN or an Atlanta Braves’ game on TBS. For all you Sammy Sosa fans, or National League Central lovers, tune into WGN the second week of September and you will get your fix of critical games against Cincinnati and Houston. And if you’re interested in watching McGwire/Sosa part II, the Cardinals and Cubs happen to end their seasons against each other.

For all you New York Mets fans, a mid-week Sept. 21-23 three-game series is taking place in Atlanta. One week later, the site changes and all you Mets fans can once again tune into TBS to watch the huge series at Shea Stadium.

Don’t think I’m forgetting all you American League fans who should probably thank those miserable Baltimore Orioles for being the local team. All those intense New York Yankees fans have the opportunity to see the reigning world champs play live at Camden Yards Sept. 28-30. And for those desperate Boston Red Sox fans, more than three-quarters of a century without a World Series title, you can potentially witness the Red Sox clinch a wild-card berth at Camden Yards Oct. 1-3 during the final weekend of the regular season.

So, as you can see, there is no need to fear for all you die-hards. Sports fans have this instinctive ability to find their team at all costs. And if you haven’t yet found a sports bar with a satellite, just ask around, or head into Georgetown and your game can be found. You have time, because the Patriots at the Jets in week one of the NFL season doesn’t start until Sept. 12. Even if you won’t be able to head north into Baltimore or watch the team of your choice on television next month, surviving still shouldn’t be difficult.

That’s of course unless the drought takes away our shower and drinking water. But should your pain be too great in this early fall season, maybe next time you should root for a team that has a knack for fading before the stretch-run begins.