Angst...a good thing

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last year. Sometimes I have to type that sentence, or at least say it in my head, because it still hasn't fully sunk in. It's something I had waited for my whole life, and it happened in insane fashion after an incredible ride. But it did have one long-term effect (or so I thought) that I didn't expect: it changed the way I would root as a fan in 2005. It made me more relaxed. For the majority of this season, being the World Champs changed the way I felt about things, muting both the highs and the lows. We were in first place for much of the season, and that was great, but I didn't get too fired up over it. And when bad things did happen, things that would have had me cursing or breaking things in prior years, I maintained an even keel, a shocking level of calmness. Is it possible that winning a championship changed the way I watch the game? Was Dan Shaughnessy actually right...do Red Sox fans really define themselves by losing?

I am happy to admit that the answer is a resounding "no." As of last week, all of the Red Sox Angst came rushing back, as if we'd never won anything...and in the best way possible. That blown game in Tampa Bay had me swearing loud enough that one of the dogs was huddling in front of me on the couch, unsure of what to do. We're still the 2004 World Champs, and that's something that can never be taken away. But now 2005 feels like any other year and I'm rooting accordingly, and ecstatic about it. If we blow it this year, I'll be just as pissed as I was in any pre-'04 year, and that's great. Seven games left. Tied with the Yankees. The season ends with three Sox-Yanks games at Fenway. I live for this.

And no, I'm not bitter that I had tickets to the Friday Sox-Yanks game but sold them. Nope. Not at all. *sigh*...