It's amazing the extent to which 2004 rearranged the emotions of watching a Red Sox playoff game forever. I was watching or listening to every disaster from '72 through '03 and those traumas were still looming over everything, even deep into the World Series. During the high-stress points of Game 5 of the ALCS especially, they were more then looming. The monsters were screaming inside my head. There was not enough beer in that bar to silence them, although I tried mightily.
I was never even close to comfortable until I had visual proof that the monster was dead.
Let's go to the tape and compare the voices inside my head during the two WS:
2004, up 2-0: "Good for you. They were up 2-0 in '86, champ. What did that get you?" This isn't over, at all,."
2007, up 2-0: "Rockies are realistically done. Toast."