Celebration

Ho Hum another championship. We here in the Boston area have been accused of being a bit smug about all the championships our sports team have won. In the last 12 years we have seen 8 championships. And you know what, it's probably true. As wonderful as they all were, this one was special. In 2011 the Red Sox were an undisciplined bunch who took a swan dive late in the season. Last year they were literally the bottom of the barrel. Then this past April 16th, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two bombs went off. A tragedy that hit closer to home than I expected. Arlene's daughter grew up with Krystle Campbell, one of the people killed in the bombings. Krystle grew up one street away from Arlene who lives next door to me. Krystle played with her kids at her house. They went to school together. Truthfully it hit Arlene harder than it hit me. I drove past the house on my way home from work and while I was aware of something happening at the marathon  had no idea of this local connection and the fact that Arlene and her daughters knew the young lady well. I saw all the news trucks, several from other states not just from Boston. How do the Red Sox fit into all this?

Well the phrase "Boston Strong" is certainly not original It has been used before, "Jersey Strong", "Vermont Strong" and so on.
Around here "Boston Strong" first appeared on a tee shirt, produced by two Emerson College students, with the proceeds from sales going to a charity. The Red Sox were on the road that day. When they returned home for the first game of a home stand they hung this team jersey in the dugout.

   The 617 is the Boston Area code. Many of players live within a mile of the park so as they flew home they were certainly concerned, especially if they were married with kids. The players visited victims of the bombings in the hospital. The players were also quite keen to erase the memory of the disastrous previous season. The season soon became "The road to redemption". By April 18th, they went into 1st place and stayed there the rest of the season. David Ortiz lost weight, got into shape, led the team in many come from behind victories. But wasn't just Ortiz, it could be anybody on the team that would come through, just like we saw in the World Series.
The players wore this patch on their jerseys.

  The city, the area and all the base ball fans of New England took this team to heart and I suppose helped the area deal with bombings. When they won in 2004 it was a team nicknamed "the idiots". They were special because they finally won the Series after 86 years. 2007 was great because hey, they won it again!

                                 

 This team, in my mind is the most special. They had this fabulous season and took everybody with them. They bonded with the fans. They were very accessible to the public. They gave everyone a lift. They went from worst to first, then won it all. What's not to like?

So at times a Boston sports fan will come off smug, but not this time. Not really. The bombings were only six months ago and the city grabbed onto the team and they responded and have helped us all heal. Whether you live in Boston proper or in the surrounding area you are a Bostonian. We are proud of our city and proud of our Red Sox.

I'm outta here.