I’ll just come right out and say it – I love the Tampa Bay Rays.

But before calling me a frontrunner, telling me to get off the bandwagon, or deporting me to the state of Florida, let me plead my case.

I didn̢۪t say the Rays are my favorite team. I have and will always be a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan (which, by the way makes me like the Phillies even more as well. Sorry Dodgers fans).

But when your team hasn̢۪t been in the playoffs for five years, it̢۪s hard to find something to be excited about in October.

And if you’re saying, “what about football?,â€Â don’t even try. I’m a Niners fan and well, you can finish the rest of that sentence. Anyways, back to baseball.

Tampa Bay has given baseball one of its most intriguing comeback stories since the “Miracle Metsâ€Â of 1969.

The Rays hadn̢۪t had a winning season since their inception into Major League Baseball in 1998; that̢۪s nine years of losing baseball. Not even my Giants are that bad.

The only thing the organization had been known for in 10 seasons was Wade Boggs’ 3,000th hit – and that’s it.

Tampa Bay also had the distinction of having the worst record in baseball in 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007. Nine years in existence and almost half of them were rock bottom.

Brian Blanco / McClatchy Tribune

So this season, the Rays did something a little different.

They changed their uniforms, dropped the “Devilâ€Â in “Devil Raysâ€Â and actually started winning some games.

Now they̢۪re looking at a World Series date with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight in St. Petersburg, Fla. Since the 1991 Braves, no team has ever played for the World Series after having the worst record in baseball.

If anyone can relate to this team, it̢۪s the Fresno State Bulldogs. Both the Rays and the Bulldogs share similar qualities that we can all appreciate.

First off, the ALCS MVP was our very own Matt Garza.

The right-hander from Selma went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA for the Rays against the Red Sox, including Sunday night̢۪s 118-pitch performance that sent Tampa Bay to the series.

Garza had nine strikeouts Sunday night against Boston. If you didn’t’ see the game, he made the Red Sox hitters look like they were in the backyard swinging at a piñata.

Garza was a First Team, all-conference pitcher for Fresno State in 2005 and became the first Bulldog to win a League Championship Series MVP award.

By the way, the day after Fresno State won the College World Series, Garza tossed a one-hitter against the Florida Marlins.

See, already the Bulldogs have a cosmic bond with the Rays.

Just like Fresno State, nobody picked Tampa Bay to go as far as they have this season. But like the Bulldogs, the Rays just keep on winning.

The Bulldogs were the lowest-seeded team to ever win a NCAA Championship in any sport and the Rays have the second-lowest payroll in all of Major League Baseball.

Since free agency began in 1976, the Rays are the lowest-paid team to ever reach the World Series.

And in a Fresno State manner, the Rays did it against some of the biggest names in all of baseball.

Being in the same division as the two highest-paid teams in baseball is already tough enough, but the fact that the Rays played over-.500 baseball against the Yankees and Red Sox is unheard of.

Comparing the Rays’ payroll to New York and Boston is like comparing the salaries of Pat Hill and Timeout – they just don’t match up.

Who would’ve thought the American League East Division could pan out like this? Answer – the Rays.

After Sunday night̢۪s game, Rays̢۪ third baseman Evan Longoria said his team never believed they were the underdog at all this season.

“Little engine that could,â€Â “comeback kidsâ€Â and the Fresno State favorite, “underdogs.â€Â You could use any term to describe the Rays’ miraculous run, but they don’t see it that way.

Whether it’s the Rays, Bulldogs, Mets, or the “Cinderella Manâ€Â himself James J. Braddock, I’m just a sucker for these fairy-tale runs.

In 2004, the Rays were popping champagne because they won 70 games that season and finished in fourth place.

Four years later, they may take the champagne out again, but this time as World Series Champions.