Fraters Libertas

More Than A Feeling

Boston
Home of the bean and the cod
Where Pedro attacks the aged
And Babe laughs above with God

Yes, it is a sin to enjoy the suffering of others (and I'm not talking about the news that Hugh may have The Gout) but I have to admit to pure joy at the incredible choke (a four freaking run lead?) of Boston last night.

From this morning's Boston Globe:

In the bars around Fenway Park, they couldn't stop hugging. They counted down the outs -- 9, 8, 7, 6 -- from Kenmore Square to Quincy Market and beyond.

They could smell it! There was no way it could be dashed, right?

And then: Heads went down. Cursing. Bottles slammed on tables. Misery. The game, the series, the season -- they watched it all slip away, one run after another, until Aaron Boone's blast.

"This is all I thought about for the last three weeks," said Liz Deflurin, leaving a restaurant near Fenway Park, wiping away tears. "And this was very important to me. My heart is broken."

It's sports honey, you'll get over it. May I suggest finding something of meaning in your life (I don't know, religion, or get married and have a baby, stewardess school, something..) so you don't put so much import in sports?

The Boston urban rednecks were at it again after the game as only the most vulgar, pugilistic, drunk and overall pathetic fans in the nation could:

Others were not so calm. Boston police officers took several misbehaving fans into custody near Fenway Park, as well as pushing others with billy clubs. There were several scuffles. Officers ushered several crowds away using their horses. Dozens of motorcycle officers prevented groups from gathering.

One bridge near Fenway Park was closed. Hundreds walked down Commonwealth Avenue knocking over trash cans and plants.

One of the reasons this feels so good right now (and hey, I admit it, when I lived there I cheered for the Sox) is that the whole "Yankees Suck" mentality of the brain-dead Boston fans.

On New Years Eve, 2001 I was in Montreal with some pals from work. We had driven up from Boston to check out the city. Good times, good times. But I remember being awakened at 3:30 that morning to the incredibly loud chant "Yankees suck! Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" reverberating throughout the hotel we were staying in. It was January. There were no Yankees or Yankee fans anywhere. It's just something they did for entertainment.

Going to games at Fenway, the utter vulgarity of the fans is on conspicuous display. Jeter Blows, Clemens Swallows, David Wells Is A Bad Baseball Player (okay, maybe not that last one) are all t-shirts you can pick up on your way to the game. And if you go to a Yankees game, you will see a minimum of 32 fights between drunk Red Sox fans and brave but foolish Yankees fans.

I was at such a game sitting in the bleachers last year. In front of me was a group of four adults: 50'ish, well-dressed and mannered, clad in Yankees gear. The Sox were losing, so naturally the rednecks were getting belligerent and were juiced to the gills. At one point after the Yankees scored, the Yankees fans cheered. Not obnoxiously. Not in-your-face. Just cheered. Immediately a torrent of obscenities rained down on them. F-yous, you sucks, go homes and various other vulgarities were shouted.

Offers were made to fight the men in the group, who didn't back down, but after six innings had to leave the game for fear of the safety of their women. "You guys are a bunch of punks!" one of the men in the group said to the fans as they left. True that.

I think what Boston fans mean when they say "Yankees suck" is that they resent not only the Yankees (all the bitching about payroll, TV contracts, etc.) but New York City itself. They resent New York being the quintessential American city and the best city in the world. They resent that everyone knows New York is where it's at and Boston is maybe 5th or 6th down on the list.

I was living in Boston at the time of the September 11th attacks and everyone in the city was convinced Boston was next. (George to Seinfeld: "Look at the ego on you") The Hancock building! It's a natural target! So for years (it still may be there) a Massachusetts state trooper's car was parked with lights flashing at the exit off the Mass turnpike to the building. Purpose? Not sure. But they were sure that Boston was at the top of the terrorist's list.

I wanted to say "Sorry guys, but the terrorists flew FROM Boston to a place people will actually notice to commit their dirty business." Even the terrorists knew that New York was The Place To Be and Boston was an Also Ran.