Ripken didn't sleep much that night, which turned out to be unfortunate. After all, he had a big event the morning of September 6, which was his daughter Rachel's first day of school. Ripken was determined to take her. "I didn't get much sleep, and then we wound up sleeping late," he said. " I kept pushing the alarm again and again and falling back asleep. When we finally got up, we were rushing around to get her to school." Ripken noted that a lot of people apparently showed up at his daughter's school, wanting to see him that morning. "But since we were late, by the time we got there and dropped her off, no one was around waiting."

Ripken tried his best to take it easy that day and keep things normal. But he knew nothing would be normal that day when he arrived at the ballpark at about 4:30 p.m. to find Secret Service agents all over the place, getting security in order for a group of very interested fans -- President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and their families. No one in the clubhouse was trying to say much about the coming moment early that afternoon, but in the silence of Ripken getting his ankle taped by Orioles trainer and longtime friend Richie Bancells, something special was happening.

Mike Mussina sat in front of his locker, preparing mentally for one of the biggest games of his brilliant career. He waited for this moment for much of the season. "After the All-Star Game, I counted back five days [the turn for a pitcher in a rotation] and realized that I was scheduled to pitch on September 6," Mussina said.

Despite Ripken's best efforts, the atmosphere around the clubhouse was far from normal. Bobby Bonilla, Curtis Goodwin, and others were walking around with video cameras, taping everyone in sight, and Ripken as much as they could. "It was totally different," Ripken said.

Talk about different. Soon, President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and their families came into the Orioles clubhouse to meet Ripken. Now, it was not unusual for political figures to show up at Camden Yards. Since it is so close to Washington, DC, members of Congress or cabinet officials can often be spotted at the ballpark. In fact, that day, Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski asked Senate majority leader Bob Dole if the evening session of the Senate could be postponed so Capitol Hill ticket holders could go to the game. "I'm so excited, it feels like New Year's Eve," she said. Earlier in the day, a proclamation was read on the House floor in honor of Ripken.

But this was different, bringing the most powerful man and his right-hand man into the clubhouse to meet Ripken, who tried to remain cool and collected while meeting Clinton, Gore, and company about forty-five minutes before game time. "This is the closest thing to an out-of-body experience," Ripken told the President. "It is like someone else is in your shoes."

"He began perspiring like he was having a heart attack," Maroon said of Ripken. "He was signing stuff for Clinton and Gore and their families, and the sweat was dropping off his forearms. He seemed like a nervous wreck, and he is normally so cool under pressure. It was like he was finally realizing what was going on."

Clinton joked with Ripken, telling him not to get writers cramp from signing all the memorabilia he was giving them. Ripken went out of his way to pay attention to the children, including Gore's son, Albert III, who was seriously injured in a car accident after the Orioles' opening day game in 1989 at Memorial Stadium. Orioles players brought their own children to the clubhouse to meet Clinton, taping the moment with their own minicams. Later, sitting in on the ESPN telecast, Clinton said Ripken's streak was a symbol of all the hard workers throughout America. "I think these stands here are full of people who do their jobs and are not recognized," Clinton said. "These people make the country go. Cal Ripken has made heroes of them all."

In the manager's office, Phil Regan was filling out six copies of a lineup card for the historic game. Earlier in the day, there was a slight panic at Camden Yards when someone realized that there was only one American League lineup card for the game. Extras were eventually found, and Regan filled out the cards. Because it was such a special occasion that everyone wanted to be part of, Regan wrote in the names of the four starting pitchers who would not be on the mound that night. Normally, those names are not put on a lineup card. Ripken, Regan, Angels manager Marcel Lachemann, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the American League, and the Babe Ruth Museum would all get an official copy of the lineup card for game 2,131.

While Regan was filling out the lineup card, the hundreds of media in attendance were all struggling to come up with a way to put The Streak in perspective, as well as come up with a proper way to report on the night. Perhaps second baseman Bret Barberie put it best while sitting in front of his locker, near Ripken. "You know what this record is about?" he asked. "It's all about guts. It takes guts to do what he has done."

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