Thursday, April 12, 2012

Why Not Us?

Just prior to the start of the Red Sox season, Carol and I watched Four Days in October. A documentary about the legendary comeback of the Sox over the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series. I wanted to get juiced up about this season because it is such an unknown at this point.
So the Sox are down three games to none having been beaten in Game 3 by a score of 19 to 8 in the third game. A game by the way which we watched at my son's apartment directly across the street from Fenway Park. You literally walked out the door to his apartment building, crossed the street and you were at Fenway. When they got their asses kicked that night Keith said, quietly, "We're not done yet." I'll never forget that.
So now it's Game 4, bottom of the ninth and the Sox are down 4 to 3. Kevin Millar is the lead off hitter and he walks. And the fans cheered. They CHEERED. Francona yanks Millar's slow ass off the bag and pinch runs Dave Roberts. Roberts steals second and the fans CHEER. They stand up and cheer.
What the hell were they cheering about? This is what blew me away about watching the documentary. Digging the fans. Down three games to zip, losing in the bottom of the ninth, a walk, a stolen base and they are going wild.
Bill Mueller stands in, gets a hit and Roberts scores, tying the game.
The place explodes.
Talk about hope. Talk about belief. Talk about faith. Talk about loyalty.
If you could harness the emotion in Fenway that night and leak it into syringes around the world, cancer would be eradicated.
We are all so hungry for hope, for success, for escape, so hungry to see the good guys beat the bad guys once in a while, that we are willing to believe that a walk, a stolen base and a single can tun around a series that appears hopeless to the rest of the world.
That ninth inning reaction by Red Sox fans is what sports are all about. But it is rare that the outcome of the game matches the enthusiasm of the fans.
That's what was so special about that night and that series. It was a perfect night. It was a perfect comeback. The fans and the team were one, and they created a powerful vibe that drove back everything negative in the world. Even if it was only over the course of four days.
That was four days that Red Sox fans and baseball fans everywhere will never forget. Because there was a disturbance created in the space time continuum and the jolt created was a hell of a lot more powerful than 1.21 gigawatts.
I expected to create magic by watching that documentary but it hasn't taken hold yet. The Sox are one and five, last in their division, and limping home to Fenway.
But I had my emotions juiced watching the 2004 ALCS comeback one more time. I took the Red Sox fans' improbable enthusiasm and stored it away for future use.
A formidable weapon which I will yield carefully when the time is appropriate.

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