I Love a Parade

I just needed a few days to let it all sink in. Where was I at 11:40 ET on Wednesday night? Watching the game with my dad. I went over to my folks’ place and told them I’d tape the game, so they could go to bed, and if the Sox were winning I’d wake them up in the ninth. Well, once again my Dad’s spider-sense goes off and he wanders downstairs in the eighth, rubbing his eyes and asking me what the score was. When Keith Foulke stabbed that one hopper from Edgar Renteria, I shot out of my chair and covered my mouth with both hands. “My God,” I thought, “we’re going to do it.” Foulke flipped the ball to Menk…Mienk…the first baseman, and that was it. An 86-year odyssey completed. The Red Sox storm the field and do the dogpile celebration as my dad and I hi-five.

“You were right,” my dad tells me. He’d been so beaten down by years and years of Red Sox failure I don’t know if he ever allowed himself to really believe. Well, now he can.

A few notes from Cloud Nine:

--I can’t imagine being a Cardinals fan right now. You follow a team for seven or so months and they roll over everyone, finish with the best record in baseball, and ride into the World Series after two huge home wins over Houston. Then they completely don’t show up on the biggest stage in the world. One in the final two games at Busch Stadium, are you kidding me? The Sox pitching, hitting, and baserunning was all superior to St. Louis, and while the Cardinals played the field better, that didn’t end up mattering at all. Red Bird Nation sums it all up nicely.

--Kind of surprised Manny won the MVP, but there were so many candidates I’m not sure who should have won. Maybe split it three ways among Schilling, Pedro, and Lowe. At least with Manny we got the classic “I think you make your own destination” quote. I wish I was a high school senior so I could put that in my yearbook.

--I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of Pedro and Lowe in Red Sox uniforms. Pedro was the best pitcher I ever saw in a Red Sox uniform, period. As for Derek, well, it wasn’t always fun, but at least it ended well. I’m going to predict Pedro ends up in San Francisco while Lowe goes home to Detroit. Vaya con Dios, boys.

--How do Cubs fans feel right now? Are they happy? Sad? Both? If the Cubs won the World Series this year, personally, it would have eaten me alive.

--I think the Sox winning was good for baseball. Now we have some new storylines instead of the same old same old. What happens to the Sox now? How do the Yankees respond? Can the Cubs shake their World Series drought?

--Hey, Roger Clemens, you suck. Have another donut, you fat pig.

--I the past three years I’ve seen two Super Bowl wins and a World Series. In my lifetime I’ve also seen several NBA Titles (coming of age near the end of Larry Bird’s peak). The only thing missing is a Stanley Cup, but I don’t give a shit about hockey.

This year alone, I’ve seen a Super Bowl and World Series win, plus Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit winning their first WWE Titles. Quite a year.