Dear Red Sox fans at GW and around the world,
We can take the Yankees this year. Why? It seems as if the Yankee conglomerate is actually threatened by this year’s Red Sox team.
Joe Torre said it’s the best Sox lineup he’s ever faced and George Steinbrenner moaned about the Red Sox one-upping New York in the personnel department. A friend of mine even questioned the manhood of a few Sox players in his away message.
Wait a second. Your team has 26 World Series Championships. Something must be wrong if you are reduced to calling Kevin Millar a sissy.
What has he done to you? Nothing, just like every other Red Sox player in the past 90 or so years. The Red Sox haven’t crushed any Yankee dreams lately. Sure, Pedro struck out 17 Yankees in the 1999 regular season, but it didn’t matter because New York ended up winning it all that year.
Now, some Yankee fans are actually worried about facing the Red Sox, a sign that this year might be different. A certain Yankee diehard whose column is running opposite mine admitted to getting excited about rooting against Boston last weekend. He even said he was more excited to root against the Red Sox than he was to cheer for his Yankees against the Twins.
Sounds a lot like 2001, when Boston fans (myself included) charged around Thurston when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in the World Series.
Scary, isn’t it? Yankee fans are starting to act like Red Sox fans. Maybe this year the roles will be reversed. Can you imagine a Bo Sox win in this series, or maybe even the World Series? Not yet, but at least there’s a chance this year.
People often wonder what will happen if the Red Sox win the World Series. Psychologists often say marriages break up after alcoholics kick their addiction. So much of the marriage is spent trying to get a spouse to stop drinking that when he or she finally does stop, that common bond husband and wife share is lost.
Will the marriage between the Red Sox and their fans remain intact if the losing addiction ends? Yes, because winning is a much better high than losing, no matter how hooked we seem to be on losing right now.
A friend once told me if the Red Sox win, they would be “just another team.” Did New Yorkers stop liking the Yankees after they won the 2000 World Series? No, they wanted another championship. If the Red Sox win, true fans won’t lose interest. They’ll cherish the win and continue to root for their team.
My doubting friend just doesn’t understand that we want to know how it feels to support a team that can come through when it counts. We want to know how it feels to cheer for a championship baseball team. Damn it, I want a ticker-tape parade and the feel of a new World Series T-shirt every year.
Despite my past negativity toward the Red Sox, this series I am going to attempt to be more positive. But I will still sweat through my T-shirt during games and get up to pee between every inning because I’m so nervous.
But Red Sox fans, please unite and have fun with this series. No “Yankees suck” chants, no excuses. Leave the negativity to the Bomber backers. Who knows, it might be our turn this year.
