One Nation under God...

I am a proud member of Red Sox Nation. It hasn't always been easy, and it hasn't only been since '04 when they "broke the curse". Living in Massachusetts I can honestly say everything starts and ends with the Red Sox around here. The New England Patriots win 3 out of 4 Super Bowls? You'd think they'd gain in popularity on the Red Sox, you'd think wrong. The year the Patroits won their 2nd Super bowl in a row, Tedy Bruschi one of the star players, and most likable guys on the team makes an appearance at our local shopping mall and about 500 show up and wait up to 2 hours to try to meet him and get an autograph. Later that year Johnny Damon, centerfielder and Jesus look-a-like from the Sox has an autograph signing at the same mall...over 3,000 people show up. The line started forming 3 hours before the mall opened, and most people couldn't even get near Johnny, they just wanted to snap a picture from the 3rd floor. The Red Sox had finished 2nd in their division that year, and had gotten swept out of the playoffs by the Chicago White Sox...that's how things go in the Nation. I was at the shopping mall that day and as I stood looking down at the mayhem I noticed an "old timer" standing there wearing a faded Sox hat on. "You'd think they had won the World Series this year" I say to the guy, then I mention that the Bruschi autograph signing didn't bring even half this many people out. "This has been and will always be a Baseball town, and there isn't anything those boys out in Foxboro can do to change that...". I don't think I could have said it any better myself.

It's late summer / early fall 2004 and it's time for my Wife and myself to start our birthing classes in preparation of the birth of our daughter. Of course these classes take place at night, from 7 to 8 pm every Wednesday night for about 6 weeks. What else is going on during this time? The last couple of weeks of Baseballs regular season, and the Red Sox are battling with their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees for the division lead. I sit listing about how to massage my Wife during her obviously painful labor process, the breathing, the copious amounts of fluids that will be involved...and I can't help but think how the Sox are doing. I know I'm not alone in these thoughts as a quick survey of the room announces no less than 3 dark blue hats with the signature red B on them, a few more have Sox t-shirts, and I even noticed a few other Dads-to-be have Red Sox bumper stickers. I thought about asking if we they could put the ball game on the little radio they have there, even if they want to turn it way down...but think better of it as I'm sitting in a room with women completely strung out on hormones. I settle for constant text messages at the end of each inning updating me on the score. We end our birthing classes just in time...for the playoffs that is. My Wife's due date is bearing down on us with surprising speed, and I'm deathly afraid I'm going to be "that guy". You know this guy, he's the one you read about who's in the birthing room and has the nerve to ask one of the nurses "Hey can we get NESN on this thing?". Yeah that guy, it is now my biggest fear. The ALCS starts and we are 3 weeks away from our due date. Game 1, Red Sox lose. Game 2, Red Sox lose. Game 3 Red Sox get crushed 19 to 8. It's all but over, no team has ever, EVER come back from a 0-3 deficit in any playoffs in any sport, and now it's October 17th night of Game 4
still 2 weeks away from our due date. Unlike 90% of Red Sox Nation, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I somehow knew we would come back to win, I had accepted that the Yankees would do it to us again...but on the upside the whole ordeal would over and I could focus on the whole having a baby thing. Well wins in Game 4, Game 5, and Game 6 bring us to Game 7 October 20th one WEEK away from our due date. I'm scared...I'm scared that the Red Sox will do it to me again and blow this great comeback they were working on, I'm scared that my Wife will go into labor due to the excitement of the game, I'm scared of what my reaction would have been if she had gone into labor...during Game 7 of the ALCS Sox versus Yanks. Well I'll spare you the drama...Sox won, and no labor in site. Great, except now the Red Sox are going to the World Series, which means more games and we're now within days, HOURS of my daughter being born.

I know, I know the birth of my first child is a once in a lifetime moment...and some of you may be saying "How can you possibly compare a simple sporting event to the birth of your child?". Well...let's keep this in mind, the last time the Red Sox actually won the World Series....1918, so that's 84 years ago...so it would appear that this could also be a once in a lifetime thing. We watch the Sox win the first two games of the World Series, then we head into the hospital for a scheduled induction the night of October 25th. Luckily for me, there's no game, it's the off night for travel. Curiously we are sent home, with no baby, the morning of the 26th. I won't bother with the details of that little ditty here, maybe some day, but this isn't the time. Regardless, we go home on the 26th and I have mixed emotions, I was expecting to be somebodies "Dad" by now and that was postponed for a few days, but on the plus side I get to watch the Sox game. The Red Sox went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series in 4 games, the last one on October 27, 2004. A trip to our OB's office on October 29th and end up scheduling our C-section for Tuesday November 2nd.

This is how, unbeknownst to her, my daughter allowed me to watch the greatest moment in Red Sox Nation history. Ironic since she hasn't been as forthcoming with the whole allowing Daddy to watch the game since she was born, but I still appreciate that she hung (literally) in there and "took one for the team".

Wifey and I will be going out to Boston next weekend to catch our first Sox game together. Hopefully it'll be the start of a long standing family tradition. Is it wrong that I can't wait to bring Ally to her first game?