...Halloween is in two days, you know? What I'm trying to say is that you might as well not bother to put away that World Series broom because this is the time of year when it's most useful.
I struggled with some kind of quirky intro to this post. Truth be told, I sat up in bed last night as the game was wrapping up and I thought about what I would write. A few minutes into my contemplation, Lauren asked me what I would write about. A few minutes ago, my brother Mike emailed me and asked where my post was, suggesting that surely I'd have been up until 1am carving out some sort of literary diatribe on the Series...maybe diatribe isn't the right word but I could fuel this post with the usual sardonic tone. Either way, I wanted to bring in the post with something other than a typical intro about the Sox winning the Series. Ultimately what I came up with fell about ten yards short of where I was aiming for in terms of effectiveness and/or humor. Oh well, win some, lose most.
The Sox winning the Series will always be a special thing to me and to all Sox fans around the globe, but this time it was just a little different than when I experienced in 2004. And if I can say so, I am more excited about the future of this team than I am about the present...tough to admit that, considering what has just transpired...I know. But these are my thoughts.
The other question Lauren posed to me last night had to do with my feelings this time around as opposed to 2004. I didn't have a great answer for her then, and I'm not sure what I've come up with in terms of bloggery is much more poetic but it's been very difficult to put into words. 2004 was a very special year for Sox fans and for me, it meant a good amount of isolation during playoff time. I spent the duration of the Yankee series in solitary, just me, a tv and a stool set up no more than 2 feet in front of the screen. I left it all out there and at the end of that excruciating series I was left with a sense of peace and serenity that only the Dalai Lama could be on par with. I watched the Series with my father and we rejoiced together when the inevitable happened. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life when Mientkiewicz squeezed that last out and dream became reality. What made that so special was watching that with my father, who had suffered through much more than I had. He had three times the time investment in the Sox that I did and a much more vivid memory of Buckner, Bucky Dent, Carlton Fisk, Jim Lonborg...but it was elation that I had never experienced before. It was something I'll never forget.
Enter the 2007 Series. I have a greater love for this team than I did for the the self-proclaimed 'Idiots'. Sure, Trot is my all-time favorite to ever don the Red and White but this year's team displays the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Pap, Jon Lester...these are homegrown guys just like Trot, but they've barely even begun their careers in baseball. They're excitable, inspiring, electric personalities that seem to get it...they know where they are, the stage they're on and the scrutiny they're under. Or do they? Maybe the early success skews all of that, I don't know. But I adore this team. The 2004 team made me believe...the 2007 team held my belief and did what they were supposed to do. They met my expectations and for that I am grateful. Regardless, neither team owed me anything from the start but they certainly both made it clear to me why I am a fan...because sometimes that emotional investment I make in something as trivial as a hometown team can instill a lot of happiness.
That brings me to a point that I want to make here; a point that really only became apparent to me this season. There are, of course, reasons as to how it became apparent but I will save those for a later post. There's this inherent sense of entitlement with Red Sox fans. There's a feeling that individually, the men who play for the Sox owe them, as fans, something in the way of performance. I can't sat that I thought this in these exact terms in the past, but I have certainly felt my share of entitlement over the years. I felt short-changed by guys like Edgar Renteria and Matt Clement. I've muttered things like "...and we're paying this guy $10 million this year?" The problem with that statement is the "we" aspect. There's no we here. It's them, and it's me, or us as fans that are involved in this relationship. Some might argue that as ticket buyers, we are paying salaries and therefore it's a "we" thing. Well, it's not. Let's be realistic here.
I sat and watched newscasters this season as they covered the Sox in the Series, the ALCS and the ALDS. Most would say things like, "Well folks, we gave it our all tonight and it was just enough..." I would think to myself that when even the media is imparting this sense of "we" onto its viewers, it's hard to not think of it as such. When the largest supplier of furniture in New England offers free furniture to its customers if the Sox win the Series, it might become a "we" situation for a lot of fans since their furniture may now be bought by the Sox if they should win the World Series. "We have to win!", they might have said. Oddly, I look to Manny's statement about whatever happens, happens (or whatever happen, happen) and there's always next year. Years past, I'm livid about this statement from the much-maligned left fielder of the World Champs. This year, not really at all. I thought to myself, hmm. He's absolutely got the right point of view here, even being as it is that he can be such a dog. I agree with Manny. Because in the end, it's a game. No one one this team, the 2004 team, the 1986 team, any of them...none of them owe me a damned thing. In a way, shame on me for having been so completely entrenched in it for so long. Shame on me for having put so many tears, so much sweat and so much vocal strain into what they are doing for so many years. Has it ever mattered? Maybe a little. Has it ever meant more than say, an exam, work or a relationship? Probably. But not anymore. So many things are more important.
Look, I know ballplayers are probably overpaid. Although I don't think I would feel that way if it were me playing in front of 36,000 rabid fans on a fairly regular basis, under that microscope that is the national media. Ultimately, I have a lot of respect for these guys and what they are able to endure over the course of a season. I think many athletes make suitable role models for our youth (leaving a lot of things unsaid there...trust me, I know...that's a whole other post) and on the other side of the steroids and drugs, there are charities like Youk's Kids, the Jimmy Fund and thousands of others that are the recipients of millions of dollars and cumulative efforts of people who want to do right. In a perfect world, we focus on this and save the crap for the back page. No, I'm not delusional and I know what sells and grabs ratings. But it gets old. I digress...watching our hometown team joyously jump around like school boys because they've reached the pinnacle of pro sports will never get old. And I'll never shame myself for letting that make me happy.
Congratulations to the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox.
Way to go, boys.
I struggled with some kind of quirky intro to this post. Truth be told, I sat up in bed last night as the game was wrapping up and I thought about what I would write. A few minutes into my contemplation, Lauren asked me what I would write about. A few minutes ago, my brother Mike emailed me and asked where my post was, suggesting that surely I'd have been up until 1am carving out some sort of literary diatribe on the Series...maybe diatribe isn't the right word but I could fuel this post with the usual sardonic tone. Either way, I wanted to bring in the post with something other than a typical intro about the Sox winning the Series. Ultimately what I came up with fell about ten yards short of where I was aiming for in terms of effectiveness and/or humor. Oh well, win some, lose most.
The Sox winning the Series will always be a special thing to me and to all Sox fans around the globe, but this time it was just a little different than when I experienced in 2004. And if I can say so, I am more excited about the future of this team than I am about the present...tough to admit that, considering what has just transpired...I know. But these are my thoughts.
The other question Lauren posed to me last night had to do with my feelings this time around as opposed to 2004. I didn't have a great answer for her then, and I'm not sure what I've come up with in terms of bloggery is much more poetic but it's been very difficult to put into words. 2004 was a very special year for Sox fans and for me, it meant a good amount of isolation during playoff time. I spent the duration of the Yankee series in solitary, just me, a tv and a stool set up no more than 2 feet in front of the screen. I left it all out there and at the end of that excruciating series I was left with a sense of peace and serenity that only the Dalai Lama could be on par with. I watched the Series with my father and we rejoiced together when the inevitable happened. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life when Mientkiewicz squeezed that last out and dream became reality. What made that so special was watching that with my father, who had suffered through much more than I had. He had three times the time investment in the Sox that I did and a much more vivid memory of Buckner, Bucky Dent, Carlton Fisk, Jim Lonborg...but it was elation that I had never experienced before. It was something I'll never forget.
Enter the 2007 Series. I have a greater love for this team than I did for the the self-proclaimed 'Idiots'. Sure, Trot is my all-time favorite to ever don the Red and White but this year's team displays the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Pap, Jon Lester...these are homegrown guys just like Trot, but they've barely even begun their careers in baseball. They're excitable, inspiring, electric personalities that seem to get it...they know where they are, the stage they're on and the scrutiny they're under. Or do they? Maybe the early success skews all of that, I don't know. But I adore this team. The 2004 team made me believe...the 2007 team held my belief and did what they were supposed to do. They met my expectations and for that I am grateful. Regardless, neither team owed me anything from the start but they certainly both made it clear to me why I am a fan...because sometimes that emotional investment I make in something as trivial as a hometown team can instill a lot of happiness.
That brings me to a point that I want to make here; a point that really only became apparent to me this season. There are, of course, reasons as to how it became apparent but I will save those for a later post. There's this inherent sense of entitlement with Red Sox fans. There's a feeling that individually, the men who play for the Sox owe them, as fans, something in the way of performance. I can't sat that I thought this in these exact terms in the past, but I have certainly felt my share of entitlement over the years. I felt short-changed by guys like Edgar Renteria and Matt Clement. I've muttered things like "...and we're paying this guy $10 million this year?" The problem with that statement is the "we" aspect. There's no we here. It's them, and it's me, or us as fans that are involved in this relationship. Some might argue that as ticket buyers, we are paying salaries and therefore it's a "we" thing. Well, it's not. Let's be realistic here.
I sat and watched newscasters this season as they covered the Sox in the Series, the ALCS and the ALDS. Most would say things like, "Well folks, we gave it our all tonight and it was just enough..." I would think to myself that when even the media is imparting this sense of "we" onto its viewers, it's hard to not think of it as such. When the largest supplier of furniture in New England offers free furniture to its customers if the Sox win the Series, it might become a "we" situation for a lot of fans since their furniture may now be bought by the Sox if they should win the World Series. "We have to win!", they might have said. Oddly, I look to Manny's statement about whatever happens, happens (or whatever happen, happen) and there's always next year. Years past, I'm livid about this statement from the much-maligned left fielder of the World Champs. This year, not really at all. I thought to myself, hmm. He's absolutely got the right point of view here, even being as it is that he can be such a dog. I agree with Manny. Because in the end, it's a game. No one one this team, the 2004 team, the 1986 team, any of them...none of them owe me a damned thing. In a way, shame on me for having been so completely entrenched in it for so long. Shame on me for having put so many tears, so much sweat and so much vocal strain into what they are doing for so many years. Has it ever mattered? Maybe a little. Has it ever meant more than say, an exam, work or a relationship? Probably. But not anymore. So many things are more important.
Look, I know ballplayers are probably overpaid. Although I don't think I would feel that way if it were me playing in front of 36,000 rabid fans on a fairly regular basis, under that microscope that is the national media. Ultimately, I have a lot of respect for these guys and what they are able to endure over the course of a season. I think many athletes make suitable role models for our youth (leaving a lot of things unsaid there...trust me, I know...that's a whole other post) and on the other side of the steroids and drugs, there are charities like Youk's Kids, the Jimmy Fund and thousands of others that are the recipients of millions of dollars and cumulative efforts of people who want to do right. In a perfect world, we focus on this and save the crap for the back page. No, I'm not delusional and I know what sells and grabs ratings. But it gets old. I digress...watching our hometown team joyously jump around like school boys because they've reached the pinnacle of pro sports will never get old. And I'll never shame myself for letting that make me happy.
Congratulations to the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox.
Way to go, boys.
3 comments:
Excellent post! I guess we all do feel entitled, at times. And you are so right, there are many more important things in life to worry about than whether the HOME TEAM wins, or not. But, still....
So let's all revel in the euphoria that comes with winning a World Championship AGAIN!!! Let's look forward to next year AGAIN!! Let's once again put our hearts on our sleeves next April, when our "boys of summer" take the field for another exciting, heart-stopping season of our national pastime.
I, for one, can't wait for Spring!
To the Red Sox, I say thank you for a fantastic season AGAIN!! Enjoy your time in the spotlight, because it is so fleeting! We can only hope to repeat AGAIN next year with a team which may, or may not, resemble this year's team.
French spittin' true game.
i'm wondering if you're nervous for our fantasy showdown this weekend. the only thing that could prevent defeat you is picking up Zidane and and Franck Ribery to bolster Les Bleus. Good luck.
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