Why This Win Means so Much More
The Boston Red Sox are the 2013 World Series champions—our third title in ten years. This still feels like a novelty to me, given that our victory just nine years ago was our first in eighty-six years when we broke the dreaded curse. This is made all the more impressive in comparison to our performance last season, where the Sox were last in the AL East, and third from the bottom in the American League. This year was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but instead we won. We’re the champs. It’s still surreal.
How We All Felt
But I think this year, more than any year, we as a city, as Red Sox Nation, needed this. This championship is the embodiment of the city’s new unofficial motto, “Boston Strong.” These two words are our encouragement to keep going, to keep fighting, for the victims to keep working at getting better every day. This city has grown even stronger since the tragic events in April, and the Red Sox have played a major role in that. Boston has some of the most rabid sports fans in the country, and this team’s devotion to the city, especially in our time of crisis, was nothing short of amazing.
David Ortiz is right: this is our &%!*^#@ city and this championship was for us. The World Series trophy, and even Ortiz’s MVP award is for the citizens of Boston and Red Sox Nation; for Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, and Sean Collier. This is for Jeff Bauman, and Celeste and Sydney Corcoran, and the Brassards, and Brittany Loring, and Officer Richard Donohue. This is for everyone who was injured, physically and emotionally that day. This is for us.
Even more for me personally, this series and this win is for my Aunt Linda. Growing up in my family, being a Sox fan is a birthright, and Linda was one of the biggest fans of our bunch. Just like her father, you could find her sitting deep in a chair on game day, wearing her cap, and cheering along with the game. Or, given the Sox for most of her life, yelling at the game (this is a habit I have also picked up, but I add in some more colorful language and nicknames for the players). Linda passed away in March after a battle with cancer.
As the Sox progressed through the post-season, I thought of her more and more. I know she would have been elated at how well we were doing and how far we were progressing. When we clinched the pennant, my first thought as I danced around my living room to “Dirty Water” and “Sweet Caroline” was “this one’s for Linda.” And that was that. Although it wasn’t as easy a series as it was in 2004 or 2007 (obstruction calls, anyone?), I was convinced we would win, and would win it for her. There was no better way to honor her memory.
My mother watched the games from Florida with her hat, her Wally, and a photo of Linda by her side.
The Sox brought the victory back to Fenway for the first time in nearly a century. It was worth going to Game 6 to see it happen on our turf. In our &%!*^#@ city. I was incredibly emotional that night because this victory meant so much more. It was for Linda. It was for the victims. It was for Boston. It was for us.
Thank you, Red Sox, thank you.
2013 World Series Championship flag is already hanging outside of Fenway
(Courtesy Brian Baldeck)
Falling Feet First 