30 for 30

Terras

Says he wants a Revolution
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Jun 25, 2007
2,398
That ankle shot nearly ruined my lunch for me - I knew he was in a lot of pain that night, but I had no idea just how bad it looked. That certainly wasn't pretty at all. Dave's steal gave me major goosebumps.

I consider the week that series was played to be the best week of my relatively short life. Really excited for this.
 

Dehere

Member
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Apr 25, 2010
3,143
There's been so much written about that 2004 team and yet I still feel like the story has never been told in a way that really captures what it was like to be in Boston and New York that week. This looks like it might finally be the thing that does it.
 

timlinin8th

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Jun 6, 2009
1,521
Can't reserve a DVD copy on Amazon yet, but once it becomes available I think I'm already committed to doing so. (Remember to use the SoSH Amazon link people!)
 

mikeford

woolwich!
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Aug 6, 2006
29,517
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There's been so much written about that 2004 team and yet I still feel like the story has never been told in a way that really captures what it was like to be in Boston and New York that week. This looks like it might finally be the thing that does it.
It would take a writer of Updike's quality to perfectly capture in writing what it was like to be in Boston during that comeback. Something to the level of his piece on Ted Williams.
 

Average Reds

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Sep 24, 2007
35,330
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Like a lot of you, I just watched the trailer at my desk. Unfortunately, I now have a severe case of goosebumps complicated by smile cramps.

Damn, it's hard to capture the feeling of those 4 games in words.
 

WenZink

New Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,078
God, remember when David Ortiz was in fact, superhuman?
Hell, remember when Mark Bellhorn hit homeruns in 3 consecutive playoff games? Or did I just pull an Andy Pettitte and misremember?

But what sticks in my mind of how the meat of the Yankees lineup Jeter-Sheffield-ARod-Matsui were hitting close to .500 for the first half of the ALCS and then shriveled to nada the second half, and how Damon and Bellhorn went in the exact opposite direction.
 

riboflav

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Jan 20, 2006
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I know it's a bit hyperbolic but you could almost pinpoint the moment when the Yankees' bats went quiet. When Pedro's pitch almost found Matsui's enormous head.
 

mikeford

woolwich!
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Aug 6, 2006
29,517
St John's, NL
Like a lot of you, I just watched the trailer at my desk. Unfortunately, I now have a severe case of goosebumps complicated by smile cramps.

Damn, it's hard to capture the feeling of those 4 games in words.
I honestly wish the World Series trophy had just been awarded right there at Yankee Stadium.
 

TheRealness

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Feb 8, 2006
11,694
The Dirty Shire
Yeah. I still can't take my eyes away from it. The most spectactularly emotional sporting experience I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.

I still remember my best friend's brother saying, "Why are you watching? Why do you guys still care?"

"Masochism, blind faith, whatever. They're still playing, and I'm fucking watching them"

There were so many moments. Getting taunted mercilessly by Yankee fans after Game 3. Not giving up in Game 4. Watching all of Game 5 with my father. Watching all of Game 6 with my brother up North. And finally, watching Game 7, the glorious Johnny Damon, and trying to get a hold of my Grandfather at 1am to make sure he was still alive to see it. He was.
 

Leather

given himself a skunk spot
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Jul 18, 2005
28,451
It would take a writer of Updike's quality to perfectly capture in writing what it was like to be in Boston during that comeback. Something to the level of his piece on Ted Williams.
Being in NYC wasn't so bad, either (experience of attending game 1 aside). Although I would ask Hunter S. Thompson to convey that experience.
 

Brianish

Member
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Dec 11, 2008
5,556
Watching that trailer gave me chills.
Ditto.

On a related note, I've always felt that, if they ever make a TV movie about the 04 season, and the main character is anyone but Millar, they're doing it wrong.

"Don't let us win tonight."
 

Eric Van

Kid-tested, mother-approved
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Folks may recall that my Dad, who was born in 1919, passed away on October 4, 2004. I just watched that trailer and I broke down in tears over that for the first time since it happened. Perhaps it's the compression of the saga into one minute, with all the best sound bytes to boot.

It looks very good, and I am enormously psyched to see it, but I think I'm going to need my (completely uninterested in all sports) girlfirend to join me for emotional support. Still, can't wait.
 

injia

Candy is dandy
SoSH Member
Feb 11, 2008
45
New York via Belmont
Agree on the Millar "Don't let us win tonight".

Gives me chills every time.

I don't even bother to try to explain it anymore to people who aren't Sox fans. For one thing I start to cry and can't talk.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
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For those who want to save this trailer to their hard drives, the direct download URL is:

http://brsseavideo-a...ler_576x432.flv

Right-click, select "Save Link As..." It's an FLV flash video file, size ~18MB.

Oh, and I'd kill for an animated GIF of the exasperated, exhaling, wide-eyed Yankee fan toward the end.



.
 

Brianish

Member
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Dec 11, 2008
5,556
Whatever, man. That is some inspiring shit.

The clock struck 12 during Millar's at-bat, guy.

Struck 12 midnight.

That still gives me goosebumps.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
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I feel emotional...but really? Crying? As in real tears at hearing Millar?
Come on. You're not this stupid and ignorant. I mean, you can't be.

That moment meant vastly different things to different people, and still does. Is it really so difficult to comprehend that the trailer could conjure up images, memories and feelings strong enough to produce genuine tears?

Please don't tell us you're moronic enough to underestimate or dismiss altogether the emotive power of what happened six years ago. Because for any true fan of this team who lived through it, there will never EVER be another sports-related experience that even comes close to meeting it, let alone exceeding it. Anyone who makes any pathetic attempts to counter that point is either completely full of shit, or they've snowed themselves into believing they're actually a true fan.

For a good many folks, that power was coupled with some serious real-life shit at the time. The birth of a child. A now-deceased family member's joy in finally witnessing it. A loved one who departed too soon to share it. Frankly I'd question the humanity of anyone who went through any of the above and didn't cry upon watching that clip.
 

dustins mancrush

New Member
Dec 28, 2008
26
Cambridge
Whatever, man. That is some inspiring shit.

The clock struck 12 during Millar's at-bat, guy.

Struck 12 midnight.

That still gives me goosebumps.
I remember being on Lansdown, for game four. (A friends birthday, and of course I didn't have tickets!) 4 or 5 Yankee fans asked me to take a photo of them, & right then I remembered my friend, who was a bartender @ Shay's in Harvard Sq. being asked the same from some annoying customers. He snapped the shot, but from neck down. I thought to do the same. Wanted to do the same, but then I felt that the Karma from that would be just wrong. Really F*%k us.
Now I'm so glad they can now see themselves outside Fenway when it all started!

I cant wait to watch these videos!
 

Dehere

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Apr 25, 2010
3,143
Don't forget that Ken Burns Tenth Inning will premiere on PBS a few days before this, and it will focus a lot on the '04 and '07 teams.
I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm not really looking forward to this and I generally dig Ken Burns. I probably wont even go out of my way to watch this.

He's pretty clinical. Don't get me wrong, he's a hell of a filmmaker but his stuff tends to be kind of dispassionate, at least to me. I'm skeptical that his Tenth Inning is going to have the heart that the 2004 story requires. I actually trust MLBP/ESPN to capture the emotion more accurately.
 

BoSox Rule

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Jul 15, 2005
2,343
I'm pretty sure I've never looked forward to something on TV more than this. Except maybe those games themselves.
 

gingerbreadmann

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Mar 11, 2008
750
Come on. You're not this stupid and ignorant. I mean, you can't be.

That moment meant vastly different things to different people, and still does. Is it really so difficult to comprehend that the trailer could conjure up images, memories and feelings strong enough to produce genuine tears?

Please don't tell us you're moronic enough to underestimate or dismiss altogether the emotive power of what happened six years ago. Because for any true fan of this team who lived through it, there will never EVER be another sports-related experience that even comes close to meeting it, let alone exceeding it. Anyone who makes any pathetic attempts to counter that point is either completely full of shit, or they've snowed themselves into believing they're actually a true fan.

For a good many folks, that power was coupled with some serious real-life shit at the time. The birth of a child. A now-deceased family member's joy in finally witnessing it. A loved one who departed too soon to share it. Frankly I'd question the humanity of anyone who went through any of the above and didn't cry upon watching that clip.
I think this is what you're thinking of. That is probably my single favorite article in any publication ever, and I still have that issue at my right-hand side. That is why people tear up when they see this trailer.

I can't wait.
 

monty10

New Member
Nov 16, 2006
86
I don't often post, mostly just lurk. I am psyched to see this. To Eric sorry for your loss. The same time my Mother was in the hospital, I would call everyday. I called before Game 4
she said the Sox would win. I called the next morning asked what she thought she said It's on! This went on till the Sox won it all. I flew home from Colorado the day before the parade.
Jet Blue red eye, packed with Sox fans. Stewardess said flight time to Boston home of World Champion Boston Red Sox. I started crying rest of plane ran around high fiving landed
20 minutes late. Still a great memory. Also had friends in Colorado who were living near Fenway at the time. He edited some home movie stuff from Timlin and others for a team
only video, wonder how much content made in to this? Thanks to all Great memories
 

Foulkey Reese

foulkiavelli
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2006
21,795
Central CT
Come on. You're not this stupid and ignorant. I mean, you can't be.

That moment meant vastly different things to different people, and still does. Is it really so difficult to comprehend that the trailer could conjure up images, memories and feelings strong enough to produce genuine tears?

Please don't tell us you're moronic enough to underestimate or dismiss altogether the emotive power of what happened six years ago. Because for any true fan of this team who lived through it, there will never EVER be another sports-related experience that even comes close to meeting it, let alone exceeding it. Anyone who makes any pathetic attempts to counter that point is either completely full of shit, or they've snowed themselves into believing they're actually a true fan.

For a good many folks, that power was coupled with some serious real-life shit at the time. The birth of a child. A now-deceased family member's joy in finally witnessing it. A loved one who departed too soon to share it. Frankly I'd question the humanity of anyone who went through any of the above and didn't cry upon watching that clip.
This is a great, great post Dog.

2004 was about so much more than baseball.
 

CR67dream

blue devils forevah!
Dope
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Oct 4, 2001
7,206
I'm going home
"It was disappointing for everybody, but we're not done. I fully expect we'll come out tomorrow and play our ass off"

The waterworks started right there for me. Oh what a week.
 

Insomniac

New Member
Oct 13, 2008
660
Springfield, MA
Oh, and I'd kill for an animated GIF of the exasperated, exhaling, wide-eyed Yankee fan toward the end.



A couple weeks ago, I found some low-quality copies of Games 4-7 in their entirety on a Japanese YouTube-esque website. The sound was crap and the image was pixelated, but it didn't take away from the joy I re-experienced. Not one bit. Six years later and I was still covered in goosebumps. "Four Days in October" is going on my DVR and will never be deleted.
 

bob burda

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Jul 15, 2005
1,549
I had not read the Verducci/SI piece before - it really hits home - and I'll set the timer for the 30 for 30 special. From Verducci:

"This Boston team connected generations, for the first time, with joy instead of disappointment as the emotional mortar. This team changed the way a people, raised to expect the worst, would think of themselves and the future."

I think if you are "one of US", this absolutely nails it. 2004 never dies.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
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That is absolutely awesome. I feel like I'm in one of those "Like a good neighbor State Farm is there" ads, getting instant gratification for my every whim. Thanks a ton for that.

Regarding the game DVDs, the winter that followed was a righteous time to be a member here. A bunch of incredible folks organized a DVD tree, with full video of every post-season game synched perfectly with the WEEI audio feeds, and indexed by inning. No Buck, no McCarver, no seven-second delays. It's pretty fucking sublime to say the least.
 

Phenom

as if andy gresh and gary tanguay had a baby
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Jul 31, 2006
998
Gives me goosebumps...and I agree that if it doesn't, then you don't have a pulse.

I'm curious to see how the narration is provided. Will it be clips of EEI from that time period/local news/players/game feeds?

Personally, I think that will be key. Because only real-time audio can come close to depicting the feelings of the region at that time.

But yeah, this looks AWESOME.
 

injia

Candy is dandy
SoSH Member
Feb 11, 2008
45
New York via Belmont
I flew home from Colorado the day before the parade.
Jet Blue red eye, packed with Sox fans. Stewardess said flight time to Boston home of World Champion Boston Red Sox. I started crying rest of plane ran around high fiving landed


This is not at the same level--just fun.

A friend was in the airport in Minneapolis the day after we won 2007. Waiting for flight to NEW YORK. When they announced they were starting to board the flight attendant said "Fans of the 2007 World Champion Red Sox may board first."
 

Spacemans Bong

chapeau rose
SoSH Member
I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm not really looking forward to this and I generally dig Ken Burns. I probably wont even go out of my way to watch this.

He's pretty clinical. Don't get me wrong, he's a hell of a filmmaker but his stuff tends to be kind of dispassionate, at least to me. I'm skeptical that his Tenth Inning is going to have the heart that the 2004 story requires. I actually trust MLBP/ESPN to capture the emotion more accurately.
Really? I think there was a lot of emotion, particularly concerning things like segregation and fixing and the Red Sox (the whole bit about the 1986 World Series was filled with pain). Heck, have you ever heard the guy speak about baseball? It's absurd to say he is dispassionate and I think it comes through in his filmmaking.

Furthermore, his first documentary is now part of the baseball canon, and if the Tenth Inning holds up, it will join the first documentary. In which case his treatment of 2004 will become definitive or nearly definitive to a lot of people, especially those who were too young or not Red Sox fans.
 

AquaNarc

New Member
Jan 21, 2010
146
I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm not really looking forward to this and I generally dig Ken Burns. I probably wont even go out of my way to watch this.

He's pretty clinical. Don't get me wrong, he's a hell of a filmmaker but his stuff tends to be kind of dispassionate, at least to me. I'm skeptical that his Tenth Inning is going to have the heart that the 2004 story requires. I actually trust MLBP/ESPN to capture the emotion more accurately.
I have seen very little Ken Burns, but there's room for both approaches, although I agree in a sense because I will probably DVR the Ken Burns thing and wait to watch it after the 30 for 30.

Is anyone else annoyed that these are only available on DVD and not Blu-Ray? They're obviously airing in HD, ESPN is kind of dropping the ball on that one.
 

SoxFanInPdx

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Jul 15, 2005
3,246
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I am convinced that October 2004 took years off my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The events that took place during that month will stay with me for the rest of my days. The raw emotions and memories that come back to me from watching that trailer, how can you not get emotional? After the final out was recorded in the ALCS and Nike came on with that commercial of the family in the field box seats through the years at Fenway, I broke down and lost it. It's just one of those moments in life that is difficult to describe to anyone that doesn't share or understand that love. This is why this site is a testament and staple for a lot of us that share that love.

It's an understatement that I am really looking forward to seeing this.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
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Apr 21, 2009
8,075
S.E. Pennsylvania
mabrowndog, on 19 September 2010 - 01:16 AM, said:
"That was indeed a great article, but what I was really thinking of was this."
I never, ever, EVER, get sick of the Win It For thread. Never.

And I never get sick of the goosebumps that come with any conversation of or reading about 2004.


Edit: quoted the wrong post; fixed I hope.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

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Jul 17, 2008
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I've watched the trailer now 15-20 times I still go through the feelings from after each of those games:
Anger and depression (down 3-0): check
Staying alive (we will NOT be swept): check
Not in our ballpark (make 'em win at home): check
Holy $hit, we got a chance at history!: check
Joy, delirium and disbelief: check

I'm trying to honestly determine how long this program, or any retelling of the 2004 team, could go on for before I'd say "no mas". If you were to sit down at 8 PM on October 5th and this show just goes on and on, at what point do you think it's overkill? 24 hour straight I'd start to crack, but out of exhaustion. If this turned into two hours a week I could watch until the day I die.

My boy turns one on 10/7 and thought it makes me a piss poor father I'm more excited about this program than his birthday. I comfort myself with the fact that if it were not for the 2003-2004 Red Sox I would never have gotten together with his mom and had him in the first place.

I can't even begin to imagine the emotional outpouring this is sure to reawaken in me.

Edit: crazy formatting!
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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Saw The House of Steinbrenner tonight. I'd be interested to know what Yankees fans thought bc I went in hoping to see a bio on The Boss and got 45 minutes of fans weeping about them tearing down the Toilet and 15 of awkward Hal.

If Simmons' secret agenda was to make Yankee tradition seem empty and dull, Barbara Kopple fulfilled his wishes. Very disappointing.
 

Rocco Graziosa

owns the lcd soundsystem
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Sep 11, 2002
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Saw The House of Steinbrenner tonight. I'd be interested to know what Yankees fans thought bc I went in hoping to see a bio on The Boss and got 45 minutes of fans weeping about them tearing down the Toilet and 15 of awkward Hal.

If Simmons' secret agenda was to make Yankee tradition seem empty and dull, Barbara Kopple fulfilled his wishes. Very disappointing.
I agree 100%. I was watching this and thinking "if I was a Yankee fan this would infuriate me". It lead me to believe, among other things, that a great deal of the Yankee experience was sitting at that stupid old ballpark to watch those games. They tried to make the connect that the new ballpark, and new regime, was going to deviate from what made the franchise great under Steingrabber, (I actually liked Hal) but it fell short because I kept saying to myself....."wait, didn't they just win ANOTHER world title last season in that new park?".

Worst of the lot. It could have been SO much more.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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Worst of the lot. It could have been SO much more.
This is what I thought as well. Instead of telling us what the Yankee Tradition is and why it's special, they just assumed everyone felt the same way and overloaded the audience with nostalgia for a park that virtually everyone agreed was a piece of crap (and, ironically, had lost whatever was good about it b/c of Steinbrenner's mid-70s renovations!). After about 3 minutes of that, my wife got up and went to bed.

Of course, she missed these special highlights:
  • Fans thanking Steinbrenner repeatedly for "spending so much money" to ensure the Yankee fans would have a winning team.
  • Several construction workers talking about how they would be able to tell their grandchildren that they built those $6K suites no real fan could afford.
  • The film ending with Goose Gossage telling the world that if he could say one last thing to The Boss, it would be: "I love you."
It was legitimately bizarre. The thing is, I was really looking forward to this. I was one of those Red Sox fans who was overcome with all kinds of conflicting emotions when Big Stein went up to the Luxury Box in the Sky -- I still can't decide whether we lost a repulsive enemy, a transformative figure for the sport, a secretly good guy or what. Having really enjoyed thumbing through the Bill Madden biography, all I can say is that making a documentary this boring about him has to qualify as some kind of feat.

And I agree: the Hal stuff was interesting insofar as I'd never really seen him and watching him talk about taking over for his father was awkward to the point that it made me physically uncomfortable. But really, that's it. With a bit more hindsight, I downgrade my review of this from "disappointing" to "stunningly bad." Worst 30-for-30 I've seen so far...by a mile.