[This one was written on Oct. 13]
... but I'd like everyone to remember how down about the team so many people were in 2004 and 2007 after similar playoff situations.There's no reason to panic!
The "Fan on Strike" thing was in the late 90s, I think? 2000 at the latest? It was pre-Theo, I'm pretty sure. It seems like a lifetime ago. It was fun. For those who didn't know me then, the Players Union threatened to go on strike again, and I preemptively decided it was time for fans to speak up first. One day I made a sign that said "Fan on Strike" and marched around Fenway Park a few times before a game. Ahh, to be single and awkward with strange priorities ... Good times.
I got some weird looks, had some fun conversations with random strangers. But to point, I never, EVER gave up on the Red Sox or questioned my loyalty to the team. My "battle", such as it was, wasn't with the franchise in particular.
For the record, I still stand by the point I was trying to make at the time: ticket prices are too high, the players are paid too much, it's bad for the game to have the balance of power in the same cities every year (though it's easier to look past this last one these days, I'll admit - at the time, the Yankees controlled everything).
... we're all fans - or worse: we're Red Sox fans. We're like the infected in "28 Days Later". It's in our blood. It brings us to a point of indescribable rage. It makes us eat our own. But there's nothing like it, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I think we all know that if we could, we'd all get season tickets together and watch almost every inning of every game as a group, because: 1. It's part of who we are, and 2. We don't know any better ;)
Personally, I've found my "sports zen". My father never saw the Patriots win a Superbowl. I've seen three. My father never saw the Sox win a World Series. I've seen two. If the Patriots went 0-16, or the Sox went 60-102, I'd always have amazing memories (and commemorative DVDs) to celebrate.
One last thing: the first six innings were like watching King Kong Bundy destroy Hulk Hogan at the beginning of a match. The Rays had the Sox in a headlock, and it looked like all was lost.
Varitek flied out - the referee held up Hogan's arm, and it fell. Kotsay flied out, and again the arm fell.
We know how this goes, right?
Crisp singled, and the Hulkster's arm stayed up! Then Pedroia singled in the first run, and Hogan started shaking. Then Papi hit the three run blast, and the champ started waving his finger in the air to let the crowd know that there was still some life left, and that this grudge match wasn't over yet!
Drew homered, and Hogan started connecting with some big right hands! Crisp singled in the tying run - Hogan with a big boot to Bundy's chin!
When the momentum had finally swung in the ninth, JD Drew (he of "has a Posse" fame), summoning his inner-Hulkster, hit a big Leg Drop of Doom for the win!
Can you imagine how loud Fenway *WOULD* have been if all those undeserving "fans" had stayed?
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