Well ...

[TheMeanWalrus]

Really?

That’s how it ends in 2011?

Fitting I suppose.

 

Like the late Senator John “Bluto” Blutarsky said to the Delta Tau Chi house at Faber College, “Where’s the spirit? Where’s the guts?”

 

They had none of that.

They are the Yankees Northeast Chapter now, a collection of hired guns, with no collective identity, no heart and no leadership.

 

The new age Red Sox fans are even worse. Never thought it would get any worse than the Pink Johnny Damon Shirt Wearing Bandwagon Sheep of 2004 but now-a-days?

The sense of scumbag entitlement, and general lack of knowledge, is stretching the fan base to resemble the mile wide, inch deep base that exists 190 miles southwest of here.

 

I hope this atrocity, the most collossal regular season collapse in BASEBALL HISTORY, even by the standards of the franchise that wrote the book on heartbreak, leads to some major changes at Fenway.

 

To sum it all up, its time to give the Red Sox back to Boston and take them away from the f***ing Nation.

 

The whole organization needs an enema

 

All that being said …

If you weren’t watching last night, then why watch baseball at all?

Seriously.

Probably the single most awe-inspiring 6 hours in 125 years of organized baseball, and emotions aside, if you’ve any doubt in your mind after what happened last night in Baltimore, Atlanta and Tampa Bay that baseball isn’t the greatest sport ever invented then start watching Liverpool with John f***ing Henry

 

The beauty, the grace, the horror, the skill, the ineptitude, the courage, the wonder, the awe, the triumph and the heartbreak all wrapped up on one magical night with an Act III that dwarf’s any Shakesperean tragedy ever written.

Mark my words. . .

They’re gonna write books about what happened on the night of September 28, 2011

 

I didn't sleep particularly well last night once I finally got to bed.

My mother said to me in an email this morning that I should have gone to bed at 10:00

 

No I shouldn't have

Baseball is still a special game.

And when you take away the guys making $25,000,000 a year, the steroids, the sabremetrics, the lawyers, and the teams raking in billions of dollars in a dreadful economy on tax-payer subsidized stadiums, you're still left with nine guys playing nine guys, and a pitcher vs a hitter, on a pitch-by-pitch basis playing out the greatest drama any of us could hope to see.

 

And last night, 6 teams played arguably the greatest 33 innings of baseball since they carved the first bat out of an oak tree 125 years ago and, for the final act of those 33 innings, the game of baseball shined like the brightest star in the galaxy.

 

I'm not happy with the outcome

But I am truly grateful I went along for the ride

[Palodios]

I'm not happy with the outcome

But I am truly grateful I went along for the ride

 

*starts slow clap*

[yeszir]

I wish that I was an impartial fan of like the Dodgers or something so I could appreciate how entertaining last night really was

[VA Sox Fan]

Great post TMW!

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

*starts slow clap*

 

*joins in*

[TheMeanWalrus]

Great post TMW!

 

I'm just old and soft now, Ellie Mae

[Emmz]

Yeah, good post, pretty much goes along the lines of what SCM said earlier, and what a lot of us other hardcore, pissed off fans are saying.

 

I think some heads need to roll, some players need to get traded, but overall, this team should have been able to come through. The talent was there, I just can't explain how a team that was the best team almost all year long could suck so much ass for the last month of the season.

 

I think Tito will lose his job, and this is the first time I'm truly in favor of him being fired. Up to this point I always argued he was a great players manager, but how does a great players manager let his team play .300 ball when it matters most? Even more, the players need to be held accountable. Beckett and Lester were junk in September, our two only reliable pitchers for the entire year. Lackey was a complete piece of crap all season long, and Crawford was absolutely horrid.

 

I fully expect Crawford to rebound from this, and I expect the Sox to make something happen to get a good pitcher to replace Lackey/Dice-K.

[TheMeanWalrus]

The talent was there, I just can't explain how a team that was the best team almost all year long could suck so much ass for the last month of the season.

 

Probably their VORP

[Emmz]

Honestly, if I wasn't so heartbroken, last night would have been epic. If I were just a Twins fan, really, but I'm not.

[Emmz]

Probably their VORP

 

 

Well their VORP was pretty good.

[TheMeanWalrus]

Honestly' date=' if I wasn't so heartbroken, last night would have been epic. If I were just a Twins fan, really, but I'm not.[/quote']

 

 

I already sound way to mushy for my mean, rude, online persona so I am gonna tread lightly here and just say its my sincere hope for you that you never lose the capacity for baseball to break your heart because thats a big part of what makes it so special.

 

That and BABIP

Sorry ... Couldn't resist hehehe

[VA Sox Fan]

I'm just old and soft now' date=' Ellie Mae[/quote']

 

Nothing wrong with that:)

[RedSox_Ruszkowski]

wow... still having a crappy day today, but epic post! last night was something special for baseball. you couldn't have scripted anything better for baseball. i'm still going to fume over this loss for a while, but that was our season in a nutshell. you definitely gave me a little perspective over my self loathing and pity!

[TedWilliams101]

Personally, I'd rather have a gritty, heart-in-the-game, blue-collar team with a smaller payroll that fights for every hit, every pitch than than a gigantic payroll and collection of under performing talent just waiting to cash their game check.

[CX360]

Personally' date=' I'd rather have a gritty, heart-in-the-game, blue-collar team with a smaller payroll that fights for every hit, every pitch[/b'] than than a gigantic payroll and collection of under performing talent just waiting to cash their game check.

 

Like... the Cleveland Guardians?

[jacksonianmarch]

Like... the Cleveland Guardians?

 

No, they were an overachieving team in the first month who showed their true colors from May on. They werent an inspiration, they were a fluke. Kinda like the O's last yr when they finished the yr on fire. Well, it was reversed for Cleveland. They started the yr on fire and the last 83% of the yr was garbage. And the Guardians gave up a humongous haul for a guy who isnt very reliable and will now watch their prospects turn into aces while Jimenez turns into a Dominican version of AJ Burnett

[TheMeanWalrus]

you definitely gave me a little perspective over my self loathing and pity!

 

I'm just here to do the Lord's work

[redsoxbeatz]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7034858/f@#-guys

 

lol

[Cocos Disciples]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7034858/f@#-guys

 

lol

 

Skim through, see that he says the 2004 World Series was in November, stop reading.

 

Check out Joe Posnanski and Colin Wyers on last night:

 

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/09/baseball-night-in-america.html

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15204

[wyo-sox]

I agree with so much of this original post. I do not however like the idea that only some are elite enough to deserve being fans. For one it's rather grandjour to think our knowledge, lack of knowledge, passion, length of fandom, or geographic location one is at when they wear a hat with a B on it effects the players in any way shape or form.

 

Secondly, if one lives in Boston, has went to every game for 100 years, has every players stats memorized and knows what Tito has for breakfast every day..... that fan is not on any way effected by some girl that is a Sox fan in Utah because she thinks Pedroia is cute and had never watched a full fame.

 

It's a free Country, baseball is a game. People are free to choose to cheer for what team they want and to what degree. On the whole nobodies choice hurts anyone else.

[starwarsgeekperson]

longtime red sox fans had been complaining about how newer fans "don't know what being a red sox fan truly is". All the suffering that comes with it and all. They got their wish. I hope they are happy.

[orioles no hate]

 

The new age Red Sox fans are even worse. Never thought it would get any worse than the Pink Johnny Damon Shirt Wearing Bandwagon Sheep of 2004 but now-a-days?

The sense of scumbag entitlement, and general lack of knowledge, is stretching the fan base to resemble the mile wide, inch deep base that exists 190 miles southwest of here.

 

To sum it all up, its time to give the Red Sox back to Boston and take them away from the f***ing Nation.

 

 

As an outside observer, I agree to an extent. Its seems you all have lost your identity as blue collar, beer drinking live n die with each game, mostly die with each game kinda lovable fan base. You're comment that the fan base is a mile wide and an inch deep is a real good analogy. Im impressed with that kind of writing. Wish I had come up with that myself.

 

But I wouldnt let these fans from Florida or California who have suddenly claimed their stake as red sox fans get to you. Their only connection to the team and city is their B hat, internet message boards and memoraizing lines from the departed.

 

But red sox fans actually from boston get to talk sox with your co-workers, walk down to the local watering hole for a few, when you step out of your rowhome you are in red sox land, you literally are those guys in that commercial talking about whether pedroria gets a sub named after him yet.

 

With winning comes bandwagon fans, which waters down your fan base identity. But i wouldnt worry about that man. As long as your from the boston area, you are what they pretend to be. A lifer.

 

As an Os fan we suck, sucked for awhile, reading that grantland article his description of pre-pink hat nation sox fans sound like Os fans now.

 

Sure its great that i can head to a game 10 mins before first pitch, buy standing only seats and be sitting in the lower level before the end of the 1st inning but Ill tell you what, Id trade being a devoted fan to a losing team for just a few years of success, so what if i gotta share a seat with some 17 yr old girl from california on the way there . . .i just want to get there.

 

One more thing, arent the girls who wear the pink hats now actually kinda cool for doing it? Dont they get respect for not succumbing to peer pressure and saying I like pink, im wearing a pink hat? idk, i find myself actually respecting the pink hats nowadays b/c you know they know everyone thinks they're fake but arent they really not fake since they stick with what they want to do? Honestly i think half the girls who wear non-pink hats just switched back b/c they wanted to follow what the herd said was cool which makes them the fakest of all. maybe im off

[Lionbush]

I may not have watched, the games don't fit in with UK time/working. But I woke almost hourly to check the scores and yes it felt s*** to see the final result.

 

I'm also a Liverpool supporter over here and to blame J Henry and LFC isn't exactly fair either. Liverpool have had their fair share of disaters and pain over the years, some not even sporting related.

 

Anyway, anyone who didn't see this happening 2/3 weeks ago must have been highly optimistic. I've seen my fair share of teams collapse in various sports and what was happening to the Red Sox had all the signs that this was not going to any different. These kind of ruts have to be addressed early on, as the longer they go the harder they are to stop. One the BJ's were within 2 games behind with the momentum on their side then you were just hoping that we'd scrape over the line.

 

It's a s*** feeling, no matter which side of the pond you are on. But I'll say that in the time Henry has had Liverpool he hasn't been scared at all to make the hard decisions, decisions that the Red Sox need this off season.

[orioles no hate]

I agree with so much of this original post. I do not however like the idea that only some are elite enough to deserve being fans. For one it's rather grandjour to think our knowledge, lack of knowledge, passion, length of fandom, or geographic location one is at when they wear a hat with a B on it effects the players in any way shape or form.

 

Secondly, if one lives in Boston, has went to every game for 100 years, has every players stats memorized and knows what Tito has for breakfast every day..... that fan is not on any way effected by some girl that is a Sox fan in Utah because she thinks Pedroia is cute and had never watched a full fame.

 

It's a free Country, baseball is a game. People are free to choose to cheer for what team they want and to what degree. On the whole nobodies choice hurts anyone else.

 

I might be wrong but I have a slight problem with someone who is a red sox, vikings, lakers fan. I always grew up with hometown pro teams to root for so I dont really know what its like to grow up not close to any pro teams. But for whatever reason, maybe because I live in the city, i feel like fans of a team who dont live in or near that city are missing alot of the awesomeness of being a fan in the city/area you live. its not a part of you if you live 600 miles away. when i walk down the street, the post office guy says "man we suck", grocery line every guys talking about how we suck, old ladies with an Os hat is carrying home a 12 pack of boh. its just different.

 

10 years from now when I move to the carolinas or something, ill probably have a different view. who knows, fanhood is a strange thing.

[wyo-sox]

I might be wrong but I have a slight problem with someone who is a red sox, vikings, lakers fan. I always grew up with hometown pro teams to root for so I dont really know what its like to grow up not close to any pro teams. But for whatever reason, maybe because I live in the city, i feel like fans of a team who dont live in or near that city are missing alot of the awesomeness of being a fan in the city/area you live. its not a part of you if you live 600 miles away. when i walk down the street, the post office guy says "man we suck", grocery line every guys talking about how we suck, old ladies with an Os hat is carrying home a 12 pack of boh. its just different.

 

10 years from now when I move to the carolinas or something, ill probably have a different view. who knows, fanhood is a strange thing.

 

 

I agree. It is different. Living in a city with pro teams would give you more ownership- at least different ownership. But it is different today then it was 50 or even 20 years ago. Society is so much more nomadic. There are so many people today that were born in city A, visited their dad growing up in City B, moved to city C for moms new job in, went to college in city D and got their first job in City E.

 

Then there are some like me. Growing ionic Wyoming I never had a specific geographic city I grew up close to. I always liked the Celtics as my mom cheered for them (she was from Maine). Later in life as a young adult I lived in Indianapolis. I found acfew Colts fans there and since it ticked them off and I already liked the Celtics I started following and cheering fir the Pats.

 

I have since moved back to Wyoming. Watching my sons play baseball, learning to enjoy different paced things in life, and fantasy baseball all drew mevto be a huge fan of baseball. Once again my mom follows the sox, I already follow other New England teams, and my brother is a Yankees fan... so a few years ago I started following the sox. Via the Internet I listen to Weei every day. I've watched all but maybe ten games all year and spent my family vacation driving to Minneapolis to see the sox play live. No idea how much me and my family spend on merchandise. I've met an old guy that gre up in Boston- we enjoy talking baseball often.

 

Am I a bandwagon fan???? I could care less if someone thinks I am. New fans to baseball are good for baseball. Do I owe it to someone to cheer for a non competitive team? I don't think so. Life is to short for me to cheer for an organization not interested in winning. I love the fact my sons want to play like Dustin Ped. Am I real fan? Who is to say? When does congress meet to determine what a real fan is? Are there bandwagon jumpers- sure. But the question is why do "real" fans feel so threatened by them?

[CX360]

No' date=' they were an overachieving team in the first month who showed their true colors from May on. They werent an inspiration, they were a fluke. Kinda like the O's last yr when they finished the yr on fire. Well, it was reversed for Cleveland. They started the yr on fire and the last 83% of the yr was garbage. And the Guardians gave up a humongous haul for a guy who isnt very reliable and will now watch their prospects turn into aces while Jimenez turns into a Dominican version of AJ Burnett[/quote']

 

Um, he asked for a blue-collar team that fights hard every game, win or lose. Cleveland Guardians fit that definition. No need to go off on a rant when you clearly didn't grasp the point of his post, or mine.

 

Also, White and Pomeranz were doing terrible with the Rockies, last I looked.

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Um, he asked for a blue-collar team that fights hard every game, win or lose. Cleveland Guardians fit that definition. No need to go off on a rant when you clearly didn't grasp the point of his post, or mine.

 

Also, White and Pomeranz were doing terrible with the Rockies, last I looked.

 

Don't pay attention to him. His only purpose is to bait people and get under their skin.