NEW YORK — Never before has a World Series mattered to so many people.
As ribbons of gold shimmered down upon the champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the joy of it all reverberated far, far beyond the makeshift stage hastily assembled in the Yankee Stadium outfield.
In the audience below the celebratory platform, tears spilled free and easy down the proud faces of loved ones decked out in blue. In the stands behind the visiting dugout, scores of traveling fans like the ones who followed this team on the road all season serenaded the strangers whom they do not know yet care about so deeply.