Stay Sane Inside Insanity

For people who don't follow baseball, it's difficult to explain exactly what it is to be a Red Sox fan. Some people have a hard time understanding why I follow them so passionately, especially when my family is from New York City and I have spent most of my life in Florida. That is a story that would take up a lot of time and energy at the end of a long work day, so I'll leave it at this. For me, true Red Sox fandom can be summed up with two words: hope & irrationality.

Case in point: the series that just wrapped up with the Rays. Game one the Sox came out like vikings razing a village and leaving it in ash. Game two, the Sox got absolutely smacked down. After that game, I pretty much wanted to be over the season. Just write them off and move on to hockey and college football. But then...

That's how their story has gone so far in the 20th century in a microcosm. Gut wrenching disappointment and unbelievable triumph above all expectations. It might sound cheesy, but I'm grateful for the irrationality that comes with my Red Sox fandom. We might be insanely obsessed with a pretty simple game, but it has helped me to learn a valuable lesson. In life and in sports, there is always tomorrow. There is always next year.

The Sox still have a shot. At least from my biased standpoint they do. A long show what with all the injuries, pitching inconsistency, & minor leaguers paroling the outfield. They might make it to the post season and they might not. But, I'm hopeful. Hopeful that the next could be the one that turns things around. Hopeful for the future of my team with the depth and talent that has been brought up from the farm system. I mean, if Tim Wakefield can make a start he probably wasn't supposed to make and become the oldest winning pitcher in franchise history... anything is possible, right?


Side note, the aforementioned Tim Wakefield is the Red Sox player nominated for this year's Roberto Clemente award. The award recognizes players who give back to the community and demonstrate the importance of helping others. In other words, he's a good guy. Go here to vote for him:

http://mlb.mlb.com/sponsors/chevy/clemente/y2010/