Thursday, September 25, 2003
Todd Walker saved my life the other night. There I was with one foot dangling off the side of the Lenny Zakim bridge (the Tobin was already full) for the 13th time this season when Mr. Walker rifled a ball into the seats tying the game and saving the lives of a few thousand Red Sox fans. David Ortiz’s game-winning homer in the extra frames may have saved us for good.
Being a Red Sox fan isn’t easy, never has been. I’m not kidding when I say I was ready to throw in the proverbial towel many times this year, as a Sox fan you expect the team to fail. You expect them to raise our hopes every spring and then self-destruct faster than Marisa Tomei’s career after My Cousin Vinny by mid-August. Not only do we expect it to happen, but also it’s almost as if we enjoy it. The thing is, this hasn’t happened this year and I’m not really sure how to act. As a collective whole, we take pride in being a frustrated, beleaguered gaggle of sad sacks. What are we going to do if they actually win?
I know its superstitious to talk about the playoffs when the Sox haven’t sealed the deal just yet, but throw a little salt over your shoulder and get excited because its happening. I know what you’re thinking, this is a little too optimistic for a Red Sox fan, but really what’s not to like. Bullpen woes aside, I wouldn’t want to touch the Sox starting rotation in the playoffs and they hitter knock the crap out of the ball. This team has eight guys with more than 80 RBIs, EIGHT. I was too young to remember the ’67 team and was only a year old in ’75, but I cut my teeth in ’78, earned my Sox badge of consternation in ’86 and was a full-fledged veteran by the ’99 division series. I’ve seen some good Sox teams; teams I thought had a chance, but my rearing always had me waiting for them to lose. In that sense I was never disappointed. But this year just feels different. Plus, the curse has to end sometime, according to the voice of Ben Affleck anyway.
This team has chemistry, it has gumption, it has resolve and most importantly, it has personalities. Guys like David Ortiz and Kevin Millar have brought life and leadership to this team, the key ingredient they have been missing in recent years. They’ve been able to not only deliver on the field but in the clubhouse. I only know what I’ve heard and read, but even the biggest yearly Pedro and Manny distractions seem to have been nothing more than minor blips on the radar. This team seems to believe in each other and never quits, no matter how dire things seem to be. The come-from-behind win the other night when they were down to their last strike is the epitome of this. They have that championship make-up.
So, I’m going against everything my Red Sox history has taught me and am jumping on the believer bandwagon. Something about this team just feels right; I really don’t know how else to describe it. Perhaps I’m still drunk off the Patriots Super Bowl win two years ago, but dare I say, I think this may be the year? Only time will tell and if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to sacrifice my Clemens rookie card to the baseball gods. Go Sox!
Being a Red Sox fan isn’t easy, never has been. I’m not kidding when I say I was ready to throw in the proverbial towel many times this year, as a Sox fan you expect the team to fail. You expect them to raise our hopes every spring and then self-destruct faster than Marisa Tomei’s career after My Cousin Vinny by mid-August. Not only do we expect it to happen, but also it’s almost as if we enjoy it. The thing is, this hasn’t happened this year and I’m not really sure how to act. As a collective whole, we take pride in being a frustrated, beleaguered gaggle of sad sacks. What are we going to do if they actually win?
I know its superstitious to talk about the playoffs when the Sox haven’t sealed the deal just yet, but throw a little salt over your shoulder and get excited because its happening. I know what you’re thinking, this is a little too optimistic for a Red Sox fan, but really what’s not to like. Bullpen woes aside, I wouldn’t want to touch the Sox starting rotation in the playoffs and they hitter knock the crap out of the ball. This team has eight guys with more than 80 RBIs, EIGHT. I was too young to remember the ’67 team and was only a year old in ’75, but I cut my teeth in ’78, earned my Sox badge of consternation in ’86 and was a full-fledged veteran by the ’99 division series. I’ve seen some good Sox teams; teams I thought had a chance, but my rearing always had me waiting for them to lose. In that sense I was never disappointed. But this year just feels different. Plus, the curse has to end sometime, according to the voice of Ben Affleck anyway.
This team has chemistry, it has gumption, it has resolve and most importantly, it has personalities. Guys like David Ortiz and Kevin Millar have brought life and leadership to this team, the key ingredient they have been missing in recent years. They’ve been able to not only deliver on the field but in the clubhouse. I only know what I’ve heard and read, but even the biggest yearly Pedro and Manny distractions seem to have been nothing more than minor blips on the radar. This team seems to believe in each other and never quits, no matter how dire things seem to be. The come-from-behind win the other night when they were down to their last strike is the epitome of this. They have that championship make-up.
So, I’m going against everything my Red Sox history has taught me and am jumping on the believer bandwagon. Something about this team just feels right; I really don’t know how else to describe it. Perhaps I’m still drunk off the Patriots Super Bowl win two years ago, but dare I say, I think this may be the year? Only time will tell and if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to sacrifice my Clemens rookie card to the baseball gods. Go Sox!
