oh joy

Tonight, there is a very important event occurring in my life. When I was 7 my dad took me to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. I didn't really understand then what it meant to be a Red Sox fan. I had heard about it plenty though. Growing up, there was a lady that I called Aunt Eva. We were in no way related but she was like a second mother to my dad. She lived and died with the Red Sox. I remember watching her, sitting in a rocking chair, crocheting or doing cross-stitch, about 3 feet from the TV, screaming and cursing everyone the Red Sox played. I thought back then that it was just a game. She would be so angry and frustrated, especially when the Yankees came to town.

A few years ago I started keeping up with the Sox again. My friend, Erik is one of the biggest fans I've ever met. He has the stamina to sit and watch every game all 186 of them. In 2003 it looked like our year...but the Yankees...grrr!!! Thwarted by Aaron Boone in game 7. Rage and anger came flooding over me. How can we keep doing this? Year after year after year. It had to be a curse. What else could explain Bill Buckner letting that ball roll through his legs(by the way I remember Aunt Eva making death threats on Buckner and I think she would have acted on it if she wasn't already 65 years old)? Why did it seem that every year there was something that got between us and the championship?

Then there was Papi. I know that every player on the team last year had their share of winning moments. Schilling's bloody sock, Damon's home run, Pedro. But for me there is David Ortiz. For those of you that don't know, he is clutch! Last night he hit a home run to tie it up in the 8th and a single to win it in the bottom of the 9th.

So tonight we face the Yankees. Derek Jeter (hate him), A. Rod (hate him), Bellhorn (traitor). We must win 2 out of the 3 games to win the division. We play at Fenway and we have the best home game winning percentage in the league.

Most importantly, we have Papi. go sox