Red Sox never looked better. This crazy world made perfect sense at 10:15 pm MDT. For the second time in four baseball seasons the Boston Red Sox have been crowned the Kings of Baseball. Now that all the impostors were vanquished, our returning champions from Boston, Massachusetts - the 2007 World Series Champion Red Sox. As I watch the guys spraying cheap sparkling wine, or champagne if you wish, all over their teammates and themselves, it demonstrates with crystal clarity how unimportant professional sports is, while at the same time illustrating how meaningful it is. More about that there deep thinking later. Right now wherever Red Sox fans are smiling, I hope you're all able to take a moment, smile, take a drink of something, light a victory cigar and sing a chorus or two of Winners. Sing along with me.
Here's to the winners - lift up the glasses .
Here's to the glory still to be.
Here's to the battle, whatever it's for,
To ask the best of ourselves, then give much more.
Here's to the heroes - those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.
Here's to all brothers - here's to all people
Here's to the winners all of us can be.
Here's to the heroes - those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.
Here's to all brothers - here's to all people
Here's to the winners all of us can be.
PROOF THAT IDAHO SENATOR LARRY CRAIG LOVES THE RED SOX
My late paternal grandfather could never understand how his sons or grandsons could get so worked up over a sporting event on television. Grandpa had a theory it really didn't matter if your team won or lost, you still had to go to work tomorrow. In my case, I guess he meant school. Intellectually I can appreciate what he was saying, but sports isn't about intellect, it's about passion and emotion. I can't explain it exactly nor do I want to, but all I know is you feel better when your team wins. You wear your hat and uniform top with an unapologetic pride. You want everybody you come in contact with for the next week or two to know that your guys beat someone else's guys. This wasn't always such an easy thing for Red Sox fans to do. For most of my formative years, I just knew the Red Sox as losers thanks to watching the games on television, reading the sports pages and being ridiculed by sickeningly arrogant Yankee fans.
I can still hear that grating New York accent going through me today with taunts of 1918 (prior to 2004, the last year the Sox won a World Series) the nonsensical Curse of the Bambino legend and how many titles the Yankees won while Boston was usually fighting only to avoid last place. Those days are over. Back in October of 2004, the curse was not only broken, but obliterated into a few million pieces. The hated rivals met in the 2004 American League Championship series, with the winner getting to represent the AL in the series. The Yankers er Yankees took what seemed an insurmountable three games to zero lead in the best four out of seven series. The Yanks merely had to win one out of a possible four more games to win and rub their heel in New England's collective noses yet again.
But something magical happened. 86 years of futility was about to be 86ed. The Red Sox would become the first team in the over 100 year old history of Major League Baseball to come back from a three games to zero deficit and win four straight games to gain entrance into the World Series. Red Sox Nation had to pause and reflect which was better, going to the series or coming back from 3 - 0 on the Yankees. I still can't decide. Well to make a four game series short, the Sox steamrolled the St Louis Cardinals four straight games to win the World Series for the first time since 1918. You remember 1918. There was something called World War I and a quart of milk would set you back a pretty penny, about 14 pennies to be exact.
If you've never been to New England, cared much about baseball and agreed with my grandfather about going to work tomorrow, you couldn't possibly understand or care what 2004 meant and, to a slightly lesser extent, what 2007 means to Sox fans. After the series was over and the mess from the parades were cleaned up, a great many Sox supporters visited cemeteries to pay honor to their grandfathers, fathers and other loved ones to bring them the news the boys with red hose and the capital B on their hats finally did it. No more laughable losers, no more frustrations of ground balls rolling through first basemen's legs, no more cries of "wait til next year." The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the world champions of baseball.
I hope you like a little irony with your blogs because I'm going to leave you with a taste as I finish this off to sip a drink and puff a cigar myself. First, the Red Sox won the final seven games they played in 2004 to win that World Series. They did the exact same thing to win the series this year too. You can also consider how many superstitious sorts think the Red Sox were cursed after winning the series back in 1918. The then owner of the club desperately needed money to finance a Broadway production. He raised that money by "selling" his best player to the New York Yankees. You may have heard his name once or twice, Babe Ruth. When the Yankees started wearing numbers on their jerseys, Ruth wore number 3. The final out in the 2004 series was made by then Cardinal shortstop, Edgar Renteria. Yeah that's right, he wore #3 as well. This year, the final out was made by pinch hitter Seth Smith, who struck out. Smith wears #12. A little bit of a stretch, but where I come from 1 + 2 = 3. The curse is not only as dead as the Babe, but buried forever and ever........
Here's to the winners - lift up the glasses .
Here's to the glory still to be.
Here's to the battle, whatever it's for,
To ask the best of ourselves, then give much more.
Here's to the heroes - those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.
Here's to all brothers - here's to all people
Here's to the winners all of us can be.
Here's to the heroes - those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.
Here's to all brothers - here's to all people
Here's to the winners all of us can be.
PROOF THAT IDAHO SENATOR LARRY CRAIG LOVES THE RED SOX
My late paternal grandfather could never understand how his sons or grandsons could get so worked up over a sporting event on television. Grandpa had a theory it really didn't matter if your team won or lost, you still had to go to work tomorrow. In my case, I guess he meant school. Intellectually I can appreciate what he was saying, but sports isn't about intellect, it's about passion and emotion. I can't explain it exactly nor do I want to, but all I know is you feel better when your team wins. You wear your hat and uniform top with an unapologetic pride. You want everybody you come in contact with for the next week or two to know that your guys beat someone else's guys. This wasn't always such an easy thing for Red Sox fans to do. For most of my formative years, I just knew the Red Sox as losers thanks to watching the games on television, reading the sports pages and being ridiculed by sickeningly arrogant Yankee fans.
I can still hear that grating New York accent going through me today with taunts of 1918 (prior to 2004, the last year the Sox won a World Series) the nonsensical Curse of the Bambino legend and how many titles the Yankees won while Boston was usually fighting only to avoid last place. Those days are over. Back in October of 2004, the curse was not only broken, but obliterated into a few million pieces. The hated rivals met in the 2004 American League Championship series, with the winner getting to represent the AL in the series. The Yankers er Yankees took what seemed an insurmountable three games to zero lead in the best four out of seven series. The Yanks merely had to win one out of a possible four more games to win and rub their heel in New England's collective noses yet again.
LEGENDARY FENWAY PARK IN BOSTON MASS
But something magical happened. 86 years of futility was about to be 86ed. The Red Sox would become the first team in the over 100 year old history of Major League Baseball to come back from a three games to zero deficit and win four straight games to gain entrance into the World Series. Red Sox Nation had to pause and reflect which was better, going to the series or coming back from 3 - 0 on the Yankees. I still can't decide. Well to make a four game series short, the Sox steamrolled the St Louis Cardinals four straight games to win the World Series for the first time since 1918. You remember 1918. There was something called World War I and a quart of milk would set you back a pretty penny, about 14 pennies to be exact.
If you've never been to New England, cared much about baseball and agreed with my grandfather about going to work tomorrow, you couldn't possibly understand or care what 2004 meant and, to a slightly lesser extent, what 2007 means to Sox fans. After the series was over and the mess from the parades were cleaned up, a great many Sox supporters visited cemeteries to pay honor to their grandfathers, fathers and other loved ones to bring them the news the boys with red hose and the capital B on their hats finally did it. No more laughable losers, no more frustrations of ground balls rolling through first basemen's legs, no more cries of "wait til next year." The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the world champions of baseball.
I hope you like a little irony with your blogs because I'm going to leave you with a taste as I finish this off to sip a drink and puff a cigar myself. First, the Red Sox won the final seven games they played in 2004 to win that World Series. They did the exact same thing to win the series this year too. You can also consider how many superstitious sorts think the Red Sox were cursed after winning the series back in 1918. The then owner of the club desperately needed money to finance a Broadway production. He raised that money by "selling" his best player to the New York Yankees. You may have heard his name once or twice, Babe Ruth. When the Yankees started wearing numbers on their jerseys, Ruth wore number 3. The final out in the 2004 series was made by then Cardinal shortstop, Edgar Renteria. Yeah that's right, he wore #3 as well. This year, the final out was made by pinch hitter Seth Smith, who struck out. Smith wears #12. A little bit of a stretch, but where I come from 1 + 2 = 3. The curse is not only as dead as the Babe, but buried forever and ever........
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