Always a joy to relive the Game 7 experience. For me, there were two moments after which I felt legitimately confident they were actually going to win (and for context, I was old enough in 1986 to be utterly despondent for days).
The first was the bottom of the 8th, 9-3 lead, Timlin pitching, Jeter leading off. The AB started with three straight balls, enough to trigger PTSD fears despite the healthy lead. But Jeter eventually tapped a slow roller to third, Mueller made a good play but a tough short-hop throw, and Mientkiewicz made a
gorgeous pick to get the first out. Jeter's look of dejection matched my elation...that just didn't seem like a play that would happen in a game we were about to lose.
The second was the sac fly in the top of the 9th to make it a 10-3 game. A friend of mine (also a lifelong diehard Sox fan) and I discussed before the game what size of a lead would make us confident that we wouldn't blow it. We decided it was "16 minus the inning." So a 15-run lead in the first inning would have felt safe, a 14-run lead in the second, etc. That sac fly, giving us a 7-run lead in the 9th, achieved that goal. And they held on.