Alright I am going to try and get this out of my system. Although you know how hard that is; I do go on and on. I'll probably repeat myself because I have addressed this topic before. If I do, tough. It is a privilege for you to read my words even if you have read them before.
I was watching a replay of The Bruins celebration from Fenway Park, held last Sunday. We had a couple of crazy people over that day for dinner and didn't get a chance to see it live.
So here I am sitting in my recliner one week later with tears in my eyes watching The Cup make it's way around Fenway. To rousing cheers and maximum emotion.
Listen, we need sports. We need something bigger than ourselves to lose ourselves in. Even if you are happy with your life, you need something large to wallow in, something that makes your life larger by experiencing it. Some people might choose god, but he is a fickle fellow. He gave us puppies and cancer. I don't understand that. The PATS will never give me cancer.
Looking at a filled to capacity Fenway cheer on The Bruins as they duck boated their way into the adulation, I was overcome with emotion. And it ain't the first time. Three times with The PATS, twice with the Sox, once with the C's. In the last decade. And I get choked up every time. So do you.
Because it is good to be a part of something bigger, to lose yourself and find yourself in passionate release. A positive vibe the size of Texas washes over you and makes you feel positive, makes you feel good, makes you laugh and cry and tingle. It makes you feel.
The parade passed by over a million people. I watched a chunk of that today too. Yeah, I taped it. Partially in my defense, I had to work at the booze emporium on the day of the parade. But I would have taped it anyway. Just like I taped The PATS parades, and The Sox parades, and the Celtics parade.
People spend good money to buy jerseys and T-shirts and sweatshirts and sweatpants just to be a part of something. To show their commitment and pride. If they are lucky enough to have a rich relative, money is spent attending games. Going to games now is a ritual, an event of immense proportions. Because it is so damn expensive. The tickets cost a million dollars, parking a little less, then you have dinner, booze, memorabilia, Tums and Advil. Part of me hates the inaccessibility of professional sports, but another part of me digs that feeling when I walk up the ramp at Fenway to see that beautiful field, that memorable park for the first time in a few years. Because that's about how often we can afford to make it. We don't see The Sox every year and that kind of sucks. Haven't been to a PATS game in a loooooooooooooong time, haven't been to The Garden for a C's game in a few years and haven't attended a Bruins game for decades. Would I take it for granted if I could make it every year? No.
I think true fans appreciate the work that goes into winning a championship. The odds against making it happen. The sacrifice and physical pain the players endure to get there. Yeah, they make millions but that does not diminish the effort they expend to bring a championship to a city.
Sports, and on a much larger scale, championships are a magical, mystical thing. Truly a religion. You have to have faith in something you may never see, you have to believe, even when the team is struggling. (Keith taught me that one). And when they get there, it is like a spiritual miracle. It lifts your spirit and changes your perspective, it elates you and gets those endorphins rushing like a raging river. It is good for your mind and your body (as long as you don't consume more than your body weight in alcohol).
It gives you hope. Hope is magic, hope gives you a reason to keep going. Every year as the season begins you are excited. You don't care what anybody says or how your team is evaluated by the "experts". You know they can win it all.
I'm done. I'm spent. I tried but probably failed to express my opinion accurately. I am lucky enough to have seen Boston teams earn many championships in my lifetime. The last ten years have been pure magic. They have brought me intense joy. I love it and I love the way sports makes me feel.
Let me tell you something. I have an awesome Bruins 2011 championship T-shirt. I love the hell out of the damn thing.
Think I'll wear it to church.
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