Being A Red Sox Fan

[sarasoxfan]

As usual; Els has brought this thing into perspective. Last night reminded me of the feeling one gets being a redsox fan. The waiting ...the knot in my stomach, just waiting for these guys to break out...the call in the middle of the game from some ******* friend....."your boys arent looking too good tonight"...the canned response-"dont worry its early they'll get to this guy"....Trot's homer, hey we're back....the final, a loss to the rays.

 

I suffer from redsoxfanitis, and the last few weeks have beeen the stuff that delusions are made of. The fact is we have a chance but its a long road. Over the years I have seen many a redsox team fizzle i pre yankee games. I hope they turn it around tonight, but with wake pitching I am doubtful.

Anywaym surprsiing as it may seem I havent turned on Bellhorn,. but he looked just awful last nmight.

 

I will add for the millionith time that embree is the worst pitcher we have, and seeing him try and pitch makes we want to contribute to the Jimmy Fund to try and help him with his affiction.

 

We went about 17 innings with out scoring. I dont get it. I dont get how to be a redsox fan, and I dont get why we can look like the murderers row one night and fish roe the next

 

Being a redsox fan really is hard. Damn I hate the yankees.

[elsrbueno]

They do this to us every year, and I can't believe I was fooled yet again. They get hot, come ooooh so close, only to fail miserably when the fans have restored hope. Its times like these I wish the Red Sox were in the cellar so I could forget about them and move on. Can I? Of course not.

 

The Red Sox had to get hot in August. They had to give the Red Sox fans a little bit of faith, so that the heartbreak is worse. I remember when we were 5.5 games behind NY, and they were playing Anaheim. The Red Sox announcer was hoping NY would win, because he could see it happening. He could see the Red Sox creeping ever closer, only to have them fade late in the season.

 

The Red Sox got beat by 2 of the worst teams in baseball. They've made Scott Kasmir, Bobby Mandrich (sp?), and Gil Meche look like Cy Young candidates. Why? Because it's September, of course! It's a pennant race. The only thing the Red Sox know how to do is blow it.

 

The optimist fan will say things like "We've still got 6 games against the MFY, we can make it up," or simply, "this is the year!"

 

But let's face facts: The Yankees, as always, are coming together and getting the job done. Musinna's back, Giambi's back, and they're winning baseball games. September's their month. The Red Sox, on the other hand, give the ball to their ace, the heart and soul of their pitching staff since 97 to stop the skid, restore confidence, and try to get on a roll before the biggest series of the season (how many times have we said THAT phrase this year?!?), and what happens? The Red Sox look like a AAA team and make Scott Kasmir look like Randy Johnson, while the Yankees do what they're SUPPOSED TO DO.... beat up on teams that are less talented.

 

Red Sox and Yankee fans have different mindsets. Even the past few weeks, even while the Red Sox were playing better than ANY team in baseball, I've been telling everyone around me, "They still have time to blow it. A 5 game lead is NOTHING for the Red Sox." I had a hard time turning off the radio when they led the Mariners 13-2, because once I've resigned myself to the fact that they're going to win, they'll find a way to blow it. The Red Sox will find a way.. to blow an 11 run lead. Do ANY other fans of any other team....hell, any other SPORT think this way?

 

Meanwhile Yankee fans sit around, confident, arrogant. Even after making up 8 games in the standings, things were looking grim for the Yankees. Mussina was getting lit up, Brown was punching walls, and their top two sluggers, Giambi and Sheffield, were hindered by injuries. But Yankee fans new, their team would find a way to win. Find a way to limp into the playoffs.

 

Constant disapointment. I tried to describe the Red Sox to someone who didn't follow baseball (a female), and this is how I did it: "Imagine your husband forgets your birthday every year... For twenty years. Every year, you see signs that he might remember, and you get all excited: 'This is the year,' you think, that he makes up for all those forgotten birthdays and really does something special. Instead, though, when the day comes, he's sitting on the couch in his t-shirt, watching TV, drinking beer, completely unaware that he's forgotten something that means so much to you. He says he's sorry, that he's been really busy, and that next year will be different. 'Wait till next year,' you think.

 

This is the mantra of a Red Sox fan. Except if my co-worker's husband forgot her birthday even five years in a row, she'd probably have filed for a divorce.

 

But we're hopeless. I was depressed this morning over the decline of our team, and my girlfriend, who knows NOTHING about baseball, said "The Red Sox lose every year, how can this bother you so much?"

 

I don't know. I just don't know.

[sarasoxfan]

els, you hit the nail on the head.

 

That was really well done, and all too accurate.

 

my brother-in-law lives in New York and he has that smug attitude that make me me ill. He seems almost amused by my ramblings. That knowing sound in his voice that september is here and its over.

 

You're post said it all and I have cut and pasted it as a reminder of things.

 

f*** I hate that your right.

 

I was depressed this morning and have taken it out on a few poeple, which I have to admit helps.

 

pedro strikes out 10, gives up two hits..the devil rays....the yankees of course mauled them...

 

spetember 15th here we f***ing go again..

 

[sarasoxfan]

that post by els, as depressing as it may be should be required reading for all red sox fans, and it should be reprinted in the program for any child that is considering becoming a redsox fan.

 

Maybe it's too late for us, but think of the little ones, maybe they still have a chance.

[Sizzlin22]

Wow a lot of depth but trust me I'd rather be a Sox fan than anything else.

[empirestrikesback26]

Well at least you re not a bandwagonner.

[sarasoxfan]

it hurts, it is never easy, but I wouldnt want to be anything but a redsox fan either.

[yeszir]

1) It's not over yet, especially for the wild card

2) Why all the sudden pessimism? Can't we all just have one constant tone? It's how I approached the recent hot streak, I had a suspiscious eye. This team can and will still win the wild card, these two tough losses will just put things into perspective for us fans and the team, and we might play less sloppily and better later on down the road.

[empirestrikesback26]

2 losses to triple A teams can't be encouraging, thats why pesimistic tone is evident.

[elsrbueno]

I'd like to make a few things VERY clear:

 

My post was an attempt to describe (in words) what it's like to be a Red Sox fan.

 

I am not giving up on them, and (I thought it was obvious from my post) can't give up on them. I am a Red Sox fan. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Yeszir: I'm a pessimist at heart (as you can see from my post). When the Sox were winning, I was thinking "It's only a matter of time before they blow it." It's pretty difficult to feel confident after the series with Seattle and the last two games with Tampa Bay.

[sarasoxfan]

I am not quite sure its a matter of being a pessimist or an optimist--its being realistic. After years of having our hearts ripped out of our rib cages, it's really very natural to anticpate what has become the inevitable scenario all too familiar to sox fans.

 

The last three games against sub par teams have been at best awful.

Hopefully its a function of playing down to an opponent. And we show our true colors against team our equal. But if tif this is a pattern, and if it is going to happen again, I think I am being realistic in saying, man I am worried about the fact that we have I believe 8 games left with the o's, and 4 or 5 left with these annoying devil rays.

[noonanberg]

Playing down seems to be a habit for the Sox, but they almost always play up to their opponents as well. So when the Sox make the playoffs (knock on wood) they'll play up to whoever dares to play them. SEE YA LATER YANKEES DYNASTY!

[empirestrikesback26]

Originally posted by noonanberg@Sep 16 2004, 06:17 PM

Playing down seems to be a habit for the Sox, but they almost always play up to their opponents as well. So when the Sox make the playoffs (knock on wood) they'll play up to whoever dares to play them. SEE YA LATER YANKEES DYNASTY!

LOL!!! Funny for 2 reasons.

[CrespoBlows]

Once again a negative post by els, seriously man you said we should trade everybody at the all star break. If we win tonight then we have a chance to catch the Yankees. Keep the faith!

[CrespoBlows]

Get on the Angels case for splitting with the Marniners, or trash the Yankees for getting destroyed by the Royals. WERE 5.5 GAMES UP!!!!!!!!! How can we blow that when Anaheim plays Texas and Oakland? Answer that, HOW!

[elsrbueno]

Originally posted by CrespoBlows@Sep 16 2004, 07:36 PM

Once again a negative post by els, seriously man you said we should trade everybody at the all star break. If we win tonight then we have a chance to catch the Yankees. Keep the faith!

Wait a minute...I didn't say we should trade everybody... Maybe a few folks.

 

I DID say trade Nomar... but I haven't bitched about any individual players in a long long time (probably since the all-star break).

 

Anyway, I am being realistic. We have a very real chance of catching New York, but ONLY if we dominate them head to head.

 

We've got to win both series to have a shot. We can't expect help from Toronto. IF we can win BOTH series (and match the Yankees next week), we'll be down 1.5 games with 6 to play.

 

We've got a really GOOD chance of winning the wild card. BUT, I'm not going to say its gunna happen until it's MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for them to catch up.

[empirestrikesback26]

Originally posted by elsrbueno+Sep 17 2004, 09:28 AM-->

QUOTE (elsrbueno @ Sep 17 2004, 09:28 AM)

[elsrbueno]

Originally posted by empirestrikesback26+Sep 17 2004, 03:51 PM-->

QUOTE (empirestrikesback26 @ Sep 17 2004, 03:51 PM)

Originally posted by elsrbueno@Sep 17 2004, 09:28 AM

[yankeehater]

all u yankee fans arent yankee fans ur jus bandwaganers not like us red sox die harrds

[empirestrikesback26]

Originally posted by yankeehater@Sep 17 2004, 05:57 PM

all u yankee fans arent yankee fans ur jus bandwaganers not like us red sox die harrds

A comple fabrication of the truth...all yankee fans left are diehards. All bandwaggoners left when they lost in 2001, any remaining were gone by 2002.

[yankeehater]

sureeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[RedSoxRooter]

so will you be gone after this season?

[yankeehater]

hahah good one

[empirestrikesback26]

Originally posted by RedSoxRooter@Sep 17 2004, 06:12 PM

so will you be gone after this season?

no because I'm not a bandwagoner, my ass would be gone after that 22-0 game if i was.

[yankeehater]

sureee