Go Red Sox!!!
OK so maybe I am not the most die-hard baseball fan. I don't know most of the players' names and I sure as heck cannot pronounce Daisuke Matsuzaka's properly. I can't rattle off stats or tell you how many yards a ball needs to be hit to clear the Green Monster. However, I am not a bandwagon fan. I have been a Red Sox fan my entire life. Even in 1986, I was one of the few brave enough to walk around NYC with a large Red Sox pin on my jacket. I rarely ever rooted for another team and I've never, ever rooted against my boys from Boston. Heck, even when they were the most pathetic team in the league, I admitted in public that I was a Boston fan. When people asked "why?" in a disgusting tone (this is Yankee country), I would always respond "well somebody has to be."
Being a true Boston fan means accepting that there are two teams that play: the pre-All-Star break team, and the post-All-Star break team. Something happens to them over that weekend that turns them from a first place kick ass team, to a barely-makes-the-wild-card-spot team. It's almost like evil aliens come and take over the team. If Boston makes the playoffs I am happy but I've come to expect a quick exit during the wild card round or the first "real" round. I have learned to never get my hopes up.
In 2004, when I saw they were down 3-0 in the ALCS, I was like "here we go again." But then they won game 4. Then game 5. Then they got my attention with games 6 and 7. It's a rarity to see a team come back from that deficit to win a series. What was even better was that it was against the hated Yankees! This way I knew I wouldn't hear the crap of "well you didn't go through us so it doesn't count" like I do each time I mock the Rangers fans about the all the Cups the Devils have won.
Then I witnessed something I never thought I would in my lifetime: the Red Sox win the World Series. I used to joke around that I would never die because one of the promises I made to myself: to live long enough to see the Red Sox win the Series. I have since modified that promise to seeing the Leafs win the Cup (if that happens, there will be proof that Hell froze over).
But as a Red Sox fan, we never keep our hopes up. I figured one Series win in a lifetime is about as good as it gets.
Now I'm watching the Sox up 3-0 in the World Series again. I'm still not getting my hopes up, but tonight I may have to break out the old Yaz jersey and a cold bottle of Sam Adams. I will stay up tonight to watch the game no matter how late it goes. Just in case.
Go Boston!
Being a true Boston fan means accepting that there are two teams that play: the pre-All-Star break team, and the post-All-Star break team. Something happens to them over that weekend that turns them from a first place kick ass team, to a barely-makes-the-wild-card-spot team. It's almost like evil aliens come and take over the team. If Boston makes the playoffs I am happy but I've come to expect a quick exit during the wild card round or the first "real" round. I have learned to never get my hopes up.
In 2004, when I saw they were down 3-0 in the ALCS, I was like "here we go again." But then they won game 4. Then game 5. Then they got my attention with games 6 and 7. It's a rarity to see a team come back from that deficit to win a series. What was even better was that it was against the hated Yankees! This way I knew I wouldn't hear the crap of "well you didn't go through us so it doesn't count" like I do each time I mock the Rangers fans about the all the Cups the Devils have won.
Then I witnessed something I never thought I would in my lifetime: the Red Sox win the World Series. I used to joke around that I would never die because one of the promises I made to myself: to live long enough to see the Red Sox win the Series. I have since modified that promise to seeing the Leafs win the Cup (if that happens, there will be proof that Hell froze over).
But as a Red Sox fan, we never keep our hopes up. I figured one Series win in a lifetime is about as good as it gets.
Now I'm watching the Sox up 3-0 in the World Series again. I'm still not getting my hopes up, but tonight I may have to break out the old Yaz jersey and a cold bottle of Sam Adams. I will stay up tonight to watch the game no matter how late it goes. Just in case.
Go Boston!
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