Mounties and stormtroopers

So, I'm back. Went to Boston Beer Works (by Fenway) at 5:30pm to get a seat. Even though it was looking good that we would actually win the series this year, the actual moment that we clinched it was amazing. One of the most thrilling moments in my life.

I just came back from the festivities. It was crazy, There were a ton of police in riot gear marching in lines down Brookline Ave. It looked like a mass of stormtroopers (in black rather than while). And they redirected us out of Brookline to Kenmore. The main action was in Kenmore and Landsdowne. There were more police in riot gear and mounted police, but didn't do anything to decrease the insanity. People started fires on the street, climbed traffic light posts and launched themselves flying into the crowd. There was a guy with a bagpipe. Lots of drunk people (most of them probably freshman who just became Sox fans to have an excuse to party). There were fireworks. There was flashing. There were side parties. It was chaos and we all loved it. It was what we had been waiting for for 86 years.

Thank you Derek for your consistent pitches. Thank you Curt for bearing through the pain. Thank you Pedro for your strikeouts. Thank you Wakefield for sacrificing your starts. Thank you Papi for your homers. Thank you Johnny for your grand slams... The gratitude that we Sox fans feel for ending our misery and pain is boundless.

Though now that I've been trained to see baseball games as a series of agonizing defeats, I don't what to do now that we've finally won. Maybe it's time to be a Cubs or White Sox fan now.

Keeping the Faith

Words are unnecessary to describe how a Sox fan feels right now. Here are some points to consider:

1) We came from a 0-3 deficit in the ALCS
2) we defeated our nemesis
3) we redeemed ourselves from last year's ALCS Game 7 fiasco
4) we have not been to the World Series since 1986
5) We have a chance of beating the Curse
6) The whole world was rooting for us (the underdogs)

So really, it was a sweet victory no matter how you look at it.

So, I'm going to Boston on a red-eye tonite. My manager was kind enough to let me work from Boston all next week so I can be in town with fellow fans as we beat the Curse. Of course, I will also need to purchase a whole bunch of merchandise that says some combination of "Sox" and "World Series" and "champions" since this is such a rare occasion. Besides, how can I go against commercialism. On the bright side, I guess I'll be helping out the economy this way.

See you all in Beantown!

I'm not even going to talk about the last 2 games.

I'm just going to say that I found "Nomar #5"... I first heard it when we were in the Playoffs in 1999. When Valentin kicked some butt and let us beat out the Indians. I loved Mambo #5 when it had first come out and the song "Nomar #5" just seemed to combine the two things I loved the most at that time. It was perfect.

And of course, now that I'm in California, I've been trying to grasp anything that reminds me of the days when I was a Sox fan in Boston. So the kind folks at WROR led me to the links where they stored my beloved "Nomar #5" as well as some other entertaining MP3s.

http://wror.com/loren_wally1.shtml

Now all of you can relive those old playoff series.

Showdown

This is it. THE RE-MATCH. The series to mitigate the pain from last year. It was even worth succumbing to paying for the GameDay audio to get live updates. Too nerve-racked this week to be able to post anything. Doubt my fingernails will survive the anxiety as I chew them down this week.

Sad to be an Angels fan

Well, I knew that I was going to support both a losing team and a winning team for this series, but boy, was it a sweep. What happened to the "Rally Monkey"? I can't complain that much since if one team had to lose, might as well be quick to give the Sox some days of rest.

Paralyzed

I guess I can't blame not posting on being so nervous about the playoff status now that we've clinched a spot. Maybe it's also being worried how we'll do and not wanting to jinx anything. I am planning on being in Boston the weekend when the World Series is scheduled to start and boy, would I do pretty much anything to see one of those games WHEN we get there.

I'm torn about the A's/Angels competition right now. I was raised an Angels fan in the days of Wally Joyner, so I have to root for the Angels. But if the A's are in it, I can attend some Sox playoff games locally rather than flying off to Orange County or Boston or (heaven forbid!) New York.

Oh well, whatever happens happens. As long as this is the year the curse is broken and when I get to attend my first World Series game at Fenway.