Sunday, April 04, 2004
Cursing Already
“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death.” From Dune by Frank Herbert
Opening day. In every other town, there is the pure hope of anything-can-happen and maybe-this-is-the-year. In Boston, there is hope, but it is always tainted by how-will-they-blow-it-this-year?
The Sox may have had their best offseason in terms of acquiring talent in recent memory, but should the Sox be looking up at the Yankees again in a month’s time, all it will be remembered for is the fact that they got ARod and we didn’t. But you don’t even have to wait that long to hear the collective preemptive sigh from Red Sox Nation. Pedro and Foulke look rusty in Spring Training. Nomar, Trot, and Kim are hurt. Nomar, Pedro, Lowe, and Varitek are all unsigned for next year. There are even whispers about clubhouse cliques that could divide the team.
But wait, there are more excuses to whine. The West is looking strong with Anaheim, Oakland, and Seattle looking to challenge the loser of the AL East race for the wild card slot. Its possible the Red Sox could win 95 games and miss the playoffs entirely. Its also possible the team could implode entirely. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Give me a break. Everyone is sick of the “Curse of the Bambino.” I’m already sick of the “Curse of ARod.” I’ve been sick of Red Sox Nation for many years and I don’t see us changing our stripes any time soon. If I weren’t a Red Sox fan, I’d want them to win the title just so they would shut up already.
So what does this opening day mean to me as a Red Sox fan? Two parts optimism mixed with one part skepticism sprinkled with fear and doubt. Let bake for one summer and check in the Fall. The perfect recipe for self-fulfilling prophecy. The only way you can “blow it” is to “have it” once and lose it. So every year we assume we “have it” and every year we look for ways that we’ll lose it. Cry me a river.
And you know what? I just realized that the only thing that might be more annoying than Red Sox fans complaining is another writer waxing poetic about Red Sox fans. So I’m just going to shut up now.
Opening day. In every other town, there is the pure hope of anything-can-happen and maybe-this-is-the-year. In Boston, there is hope, but it is always tainted by how-will-they-blow-it-this-year?
The Sox may have had their best offseason in terms of acquiring talent in recent memory, but should the Sox be looking up at the Yankees again in a month’s time, all it will be remembered for is the fact that they got ARod and we didn’t. But you don’t even have to wait that long to hear the collective preemptive sigh from Red Sox Nation. Pedro and Foulke look rusty in Spring Training. Nomar, Trot, and Kim are hurt. Nomar, Pedro, Lowe, and Varitek are all unsigned for next year. There are even whispers about clubhouse cliques that could divide the team.
But wait, there are more excuses to whine. The West is looking strong with Anaheim, Oakland, and Seattle looking to challenge the loser of the AL East race for the wild card slot. Its possible the Red Sox could win 95 games and miss the playoffs entirely. Its also possible the team could implode entirely. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Give me a break. Everyone is sick of the “Curse of the Bambino.” I’m already sick of the “Curse of ARod.” I’ve been sick of Red Sox Nation for many years and I don’t see us changing our stripes any time soon. If I weren’t a Red Sox fan, I’d want them to win the title just so they would shut up already.
So what does this opening day mean to me as a Red Sox fan? Two parts optimism mixed with one part skepticism sprinkled with fear and doubt. Let bake for one summer and check in the Fall. The perfect recipe for self-fulfilling prophecy. The only way you can “blow it” is to “have it” once and lose it. So every year we assume we “have it” and every year we look for ways that we’ll lose it. Cry me a river.
And you know what? I just realized that the only thing that might be more annoying than Red Sox fans complaining is another writer waxing poetic about Red Sox fans. So I’m just going to shut up now.
