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This is just the beginning of glory

October 21, 2004 ~ 5:12 p.m.

Earlier this morning, I learned how mentally torturous it is to stifle the urge to hoot and holler because of the threat of waking up the wife and upstairs neighbor. I watched Game 7 of the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees ALCS showdown.

I had actually taken a nap before the game, and awoke at 2 a.m., tuning in during the top of the second inning. David Ortiz had already clocked a home run. Kevin Brown had walked two batters. Bases were eventually loaded for Johnny Damon. Pwow! Grand slam, 6-0 Red Sox. Again, this was only the second inning.

Damon (a.k.a. the BoSox Jesus) also slapped a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Derek Lowe gave a gutsy, six-inning performance, a perfect follow-up to the gutsy heroics of Curt Schilling the night before. Schilling had actually had surgery performed on his ankle to keep his tendons from slipping. It was a gruesome procedure performed under only local anesthesia. Any further questions about Schilling�s work morale and team spirit? (Not, of course, that any existed previously.)

After the monumental win, Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein waxed reminiscently, �I�m just thinking of all those great Red Sox teams that could never quite beat the Yankees.� He alluded to the heartbreaks of �49, �78, �99, and last year. But the reference to last year�s team really was not necessary. This year�s AL Champions are basically the same team that they were in �03�only much more assured of themselves. And it is that very self-assured nature with which the Red Sox carry themselves which makes me not very worried at all about our quest for our first World Series title since 1918.

I didn�t become a sports fan until the age of 16. The Boston Celtics had just won the championship that summer. For years, I followed the Celtics religiously. But my interest in baseball was awakened during the �Morgan Miracle� summer of 1988. Which basically means, I�ve only suffered Red Sox angst, frustration and heartache for 16 years. What really gets to me is that I was old enough to appreciate the 1975 World Series�and I could say, �Yeah, I�ve been bummin� ever since I saw them lose that series 29 years ago!� But, I have to be honest. Such is not the case.

But I�m glad my 41-year-old best friend got to witness this, 60-year-old father got to watch this, I�m glad my 86-year-old grandmother got to see the miracle that unfolded over the past few days and which ended in grand fashion last night. There was never such a good time to be a Red Sox fan as there is now.

The Sox have vanquished the Evil Empire and stated, declaratively, that there�ll be no more playing second fiddle to you. Your divisional �little brothers� have finally grown up and delivered such a thoroughly demoralizing ass-kicking that we sincerely hope, �big brothers,� you will not forget anytime soon. We trust you won�t.

Yes, people, in the brave new world of baseball, winning the AL East doesn�t assure you of a spot in the World Series. Winning the American League pennant does.

And I offer absolutely no commiserations to Yankee fans. You�ve pushed, swaggered and bullied us for too long. The only thing I have to say to you is this:

Quoting Bob Dylan: HOW DOES IT FEEL?

Something tells me the Yankees will never quite be the same team again. And neither will the Red Sox. And, in both cases, I dearly hope so.

� M.E.M.

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