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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.
Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!
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