So here's the thing about watching baseball at my place: bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, 10-3 Red Sox and believe me: we're still just seconds away from a major ulcer.
But they did it. And all I can say is, I am so, so glad I could see this.
Of course, the curse isn't lifted yet, not by a longshot. But this is sweet.
Random thoughts:
Kenny Albert, would you please stop asking incredibly stupid questions? And if you have to interview a heartbroken Joe Torre, keep it short so he can go slink off and cry. Don't keep him there longer than necessary.
How did "Who's Your Daddy" become the official chant?
A-Rod looked like a petulant child. The words "But it's Just Not Fair!" were written plainly all over his face.
Why didn't Boston open up Fenway Park so fans could watch the game live there? It would have been so cool to cut to the celebrations in the field after the fact.
And once again, teams are entirely made up of ex-Expos and ex-Blue Jays of my childhood. Mike Timlin? John Olerud? Hell, Terry Francona? My god, we really are partying like it's 1986. Or 1992. Or whatever.
That VISA commercial starring Steinbrenner and Torre gets more unintentionally funny every time I watch it.
And miracles do happen. Whether another one does, I don't know, but it's great to savor this one.
Yeah, and weirdly enough, like all major moments in recent baseball history, we were watching the game together. Izhn't zhat veird, as Goldmember would say?
And my "life blog" != my "school blog" has a request to my bookstorey friends to see if they have leads.
Posted by: Ilan | October 21, 2004 at 01:57 AM
I thought... you were... an Expos fan... when did you become a Red Sox fan... what kind of a world do we live in here?
Posted by: Dave White | October 21, 2004 at 07:25 AM
This is nothing. What if Boston actually wins THE WORLD SERIES?
Posted by: Jim Winter | October 21, 2004 at 08:28 AM
I wouldn't call this a Yankee choke or a miracle. The fact is, Boston was favored to win going in, and the games they won were not flukes. They slugged it out with New York's best and came out on top.
Schilling and the much-maligned Lowe were heroic. Pedro is still pourous in my book.
The "Who's Your Daddy?" comes from his comment after losing two starts to the Yanks in one week: "What can I say? Just tip my cap and call the Yankees my daddy?"
Considering Pedro was the only one who let the Yanks back in the game, I think we're still his daddy.
I've been a Yankee fan since I was old enough to watch TV, and my mind is still asking, "Giambi a Yankee? Sheffield? ARod?" I've never been able to get behind them.
Posted by: Gerald | October 21, 2004 at 08:50 AM
Dave, I can't be a fan of a team that doesn't exist anymore. And besides, once the Red Sox inevitably lose the world series, I'll be my usual fickle self and stop paying attention to baseball until something weird happens again in next year's playoffs (Cubbies, anyone?)
Gerald, I know the Sox wins weren't a fluke, but still--every other hardworking team before failed to win after a 3-0 hole. And this is Boston. They always find new and spectacular ways to lose.
Jim, if they do win...what on earth will Boston fans do? They *love* to be miserable about this so-called curse (which, btw, has only been existence since the end of '86. No one ever wrote about it before then.) So if it's suddenly lifted, I think they might just go into shellshock en masse. Well, before the drinking begins again...
Posted by: Sarah | October 21, 2004 at 09:34 AM
This is what happens when you have the opening pitch thrown out by Bucky Dent ;-)
Only downside is now I have even more late nights to look forward to during the world series. But hey, its been eighteen years since that last happened. I think I can handle it.
Mary
Posted by: Mary | October 21, 2004 at 09:53 AM
Yankees better get them some pitching ...
Jeanne
Posted by: Jeanne Ketterer | October 21, 2004 at 10:47 AM
Perhaps forgotten is the genesis of The Curse. Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees to finance the Broadway show 'No, No, Nanette.' It's a cultural double whammy; more heartbreak awaits Bosox fans if the Cardinals advance. If it's the Astros, they face the prodigal son himself, The Rocket. Meanwhile Steinbrenner is assembling the Yankee brass in Tampa; there will be tuna salad on Wonder Bread until the memory of this horror is expunged.
Posted by: David Thayer | October 21, 2004 at 11:49 AM
I got hooked on baseball in 1975 when Carlton Fisk willed that ball fair in Game 6. So while I am a Mariners fan, I have a soft spot for the Red Sox and I am definitely rooting for them.
As for both ALCS teams having players from our real favorite teams, the free agent rules pretty much make that inevitable these days. Former M's who are now with either Boston or New York include the above-mentioned Timlin, Olerud, and Rodriguez along with Derek Lowe, Ruben Sierra, Mike Myers, Luis Sojo, and probably others I've forgotten.
Posted by: Greg Harness | October 21, 2004 at 01:08 PM
When Pedro pitched Game 2 at Yankee stadium, some fan had a great poster of Darth Vader with the caption, "Pedro - *I* am your daddy."
Posted by: Graham | October 21, 2004 at 01:28 PM
Jim.... Allow me to answer your question... after Boston burns for about 3 days and 3 nights... all the Boston fans will say "Wasn't that wicked great when we won the World Series... What ah the Pats doin'?" And life will go on... and ten years from now, much like New York Rangers fans, much like New York Islanders fans, they'll be talking about the day that was... not having won since.
Posted by: Dave White | October 21, 2004 at 04:25 PM