My Favorite Team

[sk7326]

One of the things that 2004 did was end the "Win it for" of people my age at least. I am not sure if the "curse" was the literary millstone the pseudo-intellectual sorts like to say it was - but I do remember (I was at a happy hour in Grad School which had bled into the night) when Aaron Boone's homerun cleared the fence ... and it was the first time I thought "they're never going to win it". So, with tonight being on the precipice of closing the greatest decade of Red Sox baseball most everybody short of our great-grandparents have seen, I'd be curious to hear some of your thoughts. In particular, starting this thread was made all the more urgent when I found out that there are posters here who barely remember 2004 (! - holy crap am I old). A few particular questions I'd love to hear answers to:

 

1. The year you were hooked - for me it was 1986. I was 8, young enough to love the baseball and the drama, Hendu's homerun when we were starting at elimination. I fell asleep before the Buckner play - the heartache for me was kicking away the 3-0 lead the next night (who gets a mulligan like that to atone for a disaster). Fortunately being an 8 year old, you got to disregard how odious some of the individuals were.

 

2. Your favorite Red Sox team (difficulty - not 2004). 2007 was a juggernaut, and the comeback against Cleveland was terrific. But I do harbor affection for the 2008 team - which by October was clearly overmatched against Tampa, but staged a really stirring comeback. Left it all out on the field, though they could not figure out Matt Garza. 2010 was also in retrospect a year that deserved respect - 89 wins with an amazing fiesta of devastating injuries, while David Ortiz was in the middle of figuring out where his swing had gone.

 

3. Where does 2013 rank. (and I think the answer doesn't change all that much with what happens the next 2 nights) - for me it's redemption. I guess I'm a bit older in real life now, so it cannot grab me like 2004 did, let alone Morgan Magic. I thought that last year's record and the 2011 finished had so much bad luck that it obscured how little it would take for us to be reasonably good this year. But no, I did not expect that we were fielding the best team in the league. It has been a great surprise - and to me a success on almost every level. The "almost" part? Well we have 2 nights to figure that out.

[Bellhorn04]

1. The year I was hooked was 1969. For no particular reason except that I was a 13-year old baseball fan in search of a team. The Red Sox had first caught my attention with the 1967 team but it wasn't until a couple of years later that I really joined the fold. One cool thing was that I could pick up the games on my AM radio. There was just something about the Sox that drew me in.

 

2. My favorite team, unfortunately was the 1978 team.

 

Tiant

Eck

Spaceman

Yaz

Lynn

Rice

Fisk

Dewey

Boomer

Rooster

Remdawg

Carbo

 

For an appealing group of players nothing could touch those guys. But they were tragic.

 

3. I'll answer that in a day or two.

[Dojji]

The year I was hooked is hard to say. I was into it in the early to mid 90's, then I hit a period of personal depression where nothing was any good ever and I couldn't get myself up for anything, and my loyalty to the team was among the casualties. I still liked the Sox, but seek out opportunities to so much as listen to the games? Eh.

 

The fact that the teams weren't all that good and a lot of the players I'd liked (Boggs, Clemens, Gator) had moved on didn't help. Nor did the fact that none of the rest of my family are fans in any meaningful sense -- Dad is sort of kind of a little bit of a Padres fan, and he's pretty much it. I didn't exactly grow up with cable (we're out THAT far out in the sticks, but Dad wouldn't pay for it) which meant my exposure level was minimal as well. I missed almost the entire Pedro era simply because I had no idea that the team was getting good again.

 

It was actually 03, when I was in college and had access to campus cable, that they got my attention again. You can imagine how well that ended, but I sort of started hovering around the edges again. Didn't pay a ton of attention in the 04 regular season, but by the ALCS they were breaking my heart again. I didn't even watch or listen to Game 4 or Game 5, figured I'd save myself the heartburn. Which is a pity because I learned afterward that I missed the two most defining games in Red Sox history.

 

When I realized they were still around in game 6 I felt guilty and turned on the radio -- which was the first time I'd even heard that Schill had been hurt (or was even on the team, if I'm honest). That game made a die-hard of me. It was like a switch went on and I realized I was listening to a game for the ages. And the umpires actually got the two major questionable calls right? Even though it hurt the Yankees? In favor of the Sox? Wow. More games like that, please. And of course, the last 5 games of the postseason were pretty much textbook modern Red Sox. Everything was awesome at that point.

 

I just wished I'd been around for the bad times, because I know to this day that that series wasn't as special for me as it could have been because I'd been tuned out all season.

[mvp 78]

1999, followed by 86 and 2013

[seabeachfred]

2007 without a shadow of a doubt. That was some ball club. We hit for less power than year than the years before but we had PAPI, Lowell and Pedroia hit for solid averages, while Manny, Youk, Tek and others contributed with key hits on many occasions when the score was tight. Our bullpen was lights out with Paps, Okiu, Tim and for once, Delcarmen and we had that big horse of an ace that season in Beckett who was ably supported by Schilling, Wakefield, Dice K and later in the season, Jon Lester.

[zackredsox]

The year I was hooked was 2003. I was 8 at the time and that spring was the first time I showed a lot of interest in baseball. At the time for what ever reason I liked the Braves, I think I had watched some games on TBS so it was the only team I really knew anything about. When my Grandpa realized how much interest I was showing in baseball he started teaching me about all the Red Sox greats and it didn't take long that he had converted me to a die hard Red Sox fan, watching nearly every game that season on MLB.com's Gameday if the game wasn't televised nationally. Even as an 8 year old I remember thinking to myself why aren't they taking Pedro out so I put my head in my pillow because I couldn't bare to watch and fell asleep before Boone's home run. As soon as I woke up my dad told what happened so I went to school a little upset but then friends that I thought I had convinced to be Red Sox fans and my teacher began picking on me about the loss, it was all I could do to hold back tears.

 

2004 was easily my favorite just because of all the good memories of watching games with my dad and Grandpa that season. The team wasn't quite as good as the 2007 team but being only 9 during the 2004 season I loved "the idiots" and I think I looked up to those players a little more. But again I fell asleep during the playoffs, this time being game 4 of the World Series.

 

The 2013 team is ranked 2nd for me behind the 2004 team just because of this teams attitude and the way they find ways to win games.

Edited October 31, 2013 by zackredsox

[Bellhorn04]

This 2013 team was unique. We've never seen a Sox team overachieve like this. Winning it all feels surreal to me. It will take a while to sink in.

[Behindenemylines]

Talent wise the 2004 and 2007 teams were more talented and we expected them to win. This year's team was special because no one had them doing what they did. I think most Sox fans would have been happy if the 2013 team was competitive and was in the hunt for the playoffs. What amazes me the most is that they won the World Series without 100% Buchholtz. I didn't think they could do it. The bottom line is I look at these THREE championship teams as my children, and I love them all the same.

[Whatsinaname]

2007 because of the Lester story and the Cleveland comeback. In fact, the I remember more about the ALCS than the WS. The 4 game Colorado series just sort of happened.

 

2013 was the improbable win. Never expected to be a contender in April.

Edited November 2, 2013 by What'sinaname

[Thunder]

I can't give anything for 2004. Too young to remember that season as I have said. 2007 for me was when I really fell in love with this organization. Everything about that season seemed so great. This season easily topped that though. This season was just magical, and I'm going to have a hard time getting over it.

[sk7326]

This 2013 team was unique. We've never seen a Sox team overachieve like this. Winning it all feels surreal to me. It will take a while to sink in.

 

Well historically 1967 ... at least in 2013 the players had a history of being good when they were healthy