One of the greatest moments in Colorado sports history happened Tuesday night

CHICAGO – The scene in the Windy City was a somber one for the home faithful, fans that are famous for standing by their team through thick and thin for over 100 years.

But in the visitor’s clubhouse, there was pandemonium.

A grueling and fantastic game ended in euphoria for the Colorado Rockies.

In a year filled with perfect ironies, it was once again Kyle Freeland, the Denver-native who has become the lifeblood of this team, who stood tall and confident throughout the game, making sure his club would play at least one hometown postseason game for the first time since 2009.

Forget the Cy Young, they were chanting, “M-V-Free, M-V-Free, M-V-Free!”

And he will pitch at Coors Field in front of 50,000 screaming friends and family.

Of course, while Freeland was brilliant once more, outdueling one of the best pitchers in MLB postseason history in Jon Lester, it was catcher Tony Wolters who somehow as the biggest hero of the celebration.

Chastised all year for his light bat, he made the offensive difference in the Rockies most important game of the season.

A 13th-inning single up the middle on an 0-2 put Wolters’ name forever into Rockies lore along with players like Jamie Carroll, and earned him a well-deserved champagne bath.

Also more than drenched in his fair share of celebratory booze was Nolan Arenado who caused some panic in the fanbase (though that may have been more about the way his comments were interpreted) by calling his team out for too much losing early in the season.

He sure didn’t look like a man with eyes on the future on Tuesday night, basking in the glory of his first postseason win, a win that he contributed to by driving in the first run of the game and making some spectacular plays on defense.

His longtime mentor in purple, Carlos Gonzalez, might still be the happiest man in the world as you are reading this. Unless it’s Gerardo Parra who seems to be perpetually in this state of joy.

But for CarGo, this has been a long time coming. The only member of the club to experience the ’09 run, he has stayed steadfastly a Rockie, even returning on a one-year deal he had to sign at the last minute halfway through spring training. Through all the years of injuries and futility, and an offseason of uncertainty, this is the moment for Gonzalez where it all turned out to be worth it.

Another pillar of the franchise that isn’t necessarily known for his boisterous celebrations, is DJ LeMahieu who was as wild as any of them. With mounting feelings that these could be the last few games in a Rockies’ uniform with his impending free agency, it was odd to juxtapose that possible reality with the love that poured out of him for his teammates.

Even mild-mannered, steady-as-she-goes Bud Black is still cleaning liquor out of his clothes and hair today. The man has led his club to the postseason in his first two years, becoming the only manager in franchise history not only to accomplish that feat, but to even reach the playoffs twice at all.

What a rollercoaster ride. Champagne on Saturday in Denver. Massive disappointment Monday in Los Angeles. Champagne again Tuesday in the city of broad shoulders. When this season is over, the Rockies might need either a good shrink or a good AA sponsor.

Until then, let’s just keep enjoying this ride, shall we?