My poor Uncle was a fan of 60 years and died suddenly in 2003. It was August so no fault of Grady Little. Since then 4 championships in 15 years. Life isnt fair.
Patriots. It's so much harder to win the super bowl. Cement the dynasty of dynasties for the modern sports world.Without starting a new thread what team other then the Red Sox would you like to see win the next title? Actually The Sox don't have to be first so for me it's the Celtics no brainer. They are only one ahead of the stinking Lakers and to me it is soooooooo important to be a few titles ahead of them. Not just for pride but I despise them as much as the Yankees. Then it's Bruins and Pats tied for the next one.
This.My sports fandom was satiated by the 2004 Sox, and I could have gone to the grave after that. I'm obviously very thankful I didn't and got to witness so much more, but all I ever wanted was to see the Sox win one.
Great Post. I agree with you so much. I couldn't stand it when people in Philly area(where I live) would say things like.....geez you win one title and you think you're the best. Or worse Yankee fans made a t-shirt with 26 rings to 6 and then the words......"There was no curse the Red Sox just sucked for 86 years". Ignorant! I still want the Celtics to win a few more to stay ahead of the stinking Lakers! That being said. I can go to my grave happy that all my teams won championships in my life.I agree with the sentiment that once the Sox won in '04, I thought I could die happy that I'd seen it happen. To be at Game 4 of the ALCS made it even more special. All that offseason, I would randomly burst into hysterical laughter and joy and mutter to myself "The Red Sox won the World Series!". I think of my life in two halves: before and after 2004.
The 2005 season brought a completely different feeling. It was exhausting because I wanted ANOTHER title. It did not end well, and I was at Fenway when they lost to the White Sox.
That passed too. I am happy to have seen every Boston team win a title in my lifetime.That's more than any sports fan can ask for in my opinion. When it comes down to it, I'm ok if the Pats never win another Super Bowl, or the Celtics win another title, or the Bruins win another Cup. But when it comes to the Red Sox, I want more. All the titles. Bring that ish to me.
All last century dumb MLB fans talked about how the Red Sox were terrible. How they sucked. These idiots were wrong (despite the huge caveat of checkered racial history that stains the franchise). There was a lot of success. There were great teams. There were great players. The Sox just never won it all. I hated that people thought the Red Sox were just bad. We weren't the lovable losers. We were the tortured winners.
The last 4 World Series titles brought the team up to 9. (9! I can't even believe it.) It should be enough but it isn't. I want the Red Sox to move ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals who have the second most titles at 11. I want this to continue to be the century of the Boston Red Sox. I want to look up before I die and see that maybe, just maybe there is a chance that my son might see the title that ties the Yankees for most all time. I can die in peace, but I want more.
The reason I vote the Pats is because they are chasing history more than the other teams. Brady has won 5 while some other QBs have won 4 - well, a 6th would be insurmountable. Also no team has won 7 titles - the Pats may not get there, but a 6th (within one HC / QB era) would be unprecedented, and overall would tie all other franchises. So basically yeah I want the Pats to lay waste to all past and future dynasties. They could accomplish more in < 20 years than other teams have accomplished in 50-60 years.
Yes 2013 was lightning in a bottle. We hate to admit but many who contributed big had career years-Napoli, Gomes, Victorino, Drew, Uehara and to a lesser extent Lackey.Wasn't a big Celtics or Bruins fan growing up, so the first 37 years were lean ones. Watching the Sox settle all the family business in 2004 immediately took the sting of 2003 away. '75, '78, and '86 still hurt, but have somewhat evolved into a "what could have been" type of emotion rather than the angst of wondering if I would ever seem them win the World Series.
2007 solidified the championship of the 2004 team as there were considerable holdovers between both runs.
2013 came out of nowhere after the Chicken and Beer/ Bobby Valentine years.
To say I'm content is probably the most relevant mindset. That said, I do get hungry. Especially with this year's edition. This was a historic team and they demanded my attention. So, yes. I did watch all 18 innings of Game Three. Yes. I did avoid the sports stories on the web that Saturday. Although that could be chalked up to a combination of fatigue and anger. And yes, I did kind of go through the same kind of self-defense mechanism that I went through when the Sox were down three games to NYY in 2004 when the Sox were down four runs in Game Four with the Dodgers. The self-defense mechanism kind of keeps me sane, but its when I go from actively expecting them to win to they can still pull this out, but its not going to kill me if it doesn't happen (for the Patriot's fans, see Super Bowl LI down 28 - 3 for a good comparison).
Still hurts when they lose. And I do have to avoid all things sports-related on the internet for a week or two. Its nothing like '86 though simply because I have seen them win it all... four times!!!!
Exactly, LOL. My sentiments.Pats fan for 36 years. They win it. I only wanted 1. They win 4 more. Fuck it. I want another 4.
Sox fan for 39 years. They win it. I only wanted 1. They win 3 more. Fuck it. I want at least another 4.
Life is good.
From a pure numbers standpoint, the '13 team wasn't spectacular. Mike Carp was second on the team in OPS and OPS+. In ERA+, Craig Breslow came in third after Uehara and Buchholz.The only guy on that 2013 team who had a "career year" was Uehara. Obviously a lot of guys, including the ones you mentioned, had one of their better years.
Yes I guess I could re-phrase it to better years. Buchholz had a great start also. They don't win the division without his Cy Young start.The only guy on that 2013 team who had a "career year" was Uehara. Obviously a lot of guys, including the ones you mentioned, had one of their better years.