Have you ever left a voicemail, texted, emailed, etc. something you regret after a huge win or crushing loss to a rival fan (or friendly fan, for that matter)? Such as a drunkenly explicit message about the obvious dominant/submissive sexual relationship between your two teams, only to forget that your buddy lives with his Grandma and they share a phone line?
Or maybe said something too early, like a poorly timed "we own you!" right before that guy's team makes a miraculous comeback and makes you wish you lived in a hobbit hole?
In 2009, in Game 3 of the Red Sox-Angels ALDS, the Sox were up 2 runs in the 9th inning with Papelbon in to close it out. The Sox were down 0-2 in the series, and they had played like garbage up to this point, but they had come back numerous times in similar situations in 5 game sets, so although it was not looking great, it was not over. And with a win in Game 3, they could grab the momentum.
So as Pap got the first out in the top of the 9th, looking to send it to Game 4, I got a text from a friend of mine (Rays fan, former Yankees fan...don't ask, it's best if he tells it himself...). It read:
"Now the pressure is on the Angels, and they will fold like a sheet of origami paper in the skilled hands of Ichiro."
Being a life-long Red Sox fan, I knew better than to respond.
Then he sent me another text, with 2 outs, nobody on base, and 2 strikes on the batter. Sox still up 6-4. It read:
"Sox take this series, and they beat the Yanks. No way they want to see Boston in the playoffs."
Again, I stayed silent.
And then Papelbon decided to throw 48 straight 91-mph fastballs, and the Angles score 3 runs with 2 outs, and win the game.
Another text from my friend. This one read:
"I am such an asshole."
Agreed. But that's life, and that's baseball.
Any stories to share, let us know...
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This was classic passive-aggressiveness anti-Sox behavior on my part. 90% of me knew that it was bad baseball etiquette, but the other 10% felt that I could stop or start the flow of the curse, which has nothing to do with Babe Ruth. I actually think it is karma for Yawkey's racism, but we'll save that for another time. Either way, as a Yankees/Rays fan, and lifelong fan of baseball, I have learned to sense, like Red Sox fans, when they are going to self-destruct. My texts were intended to first, make it interesting by stoking the curse coals, and second, to make it go away by calmly calling it off with a supportive email. I learned that night, like I did with Aaron Boone so many years ago, that nothing, and no one, can control the curse, nothing. That said, bad etiquette on my part, which was quickly admitted to in the final correspondence of the night "I am such an asshole".
ReplyDeleteHe's as cold as the ice he skates on. He's like dry ice. No wait! He's colder than that. You know what's colder than dry ice? I'll tell what is...farcuri.
ReplyDeleteThe curse ended in 2004, by the by...
That Ruth-related foolishness ended in 2004. The real curse will never end.
ReplyDelete