Pages Navigation Menu

TRU To The CORE!

TRU To The CORE!

The Red Sox are in the playoffs, the Red Sox are in the playoffs!  No, that’s not Paul Revere’s new cry, but it’s the battle cry of a playoff starved Red Sox Nation!  It’s been 4 long years since the Red Sox were last in the playoffs.  The natives are hungry!  What started out as a promising era, beginning a decade ago that culminated in 2 World Series Championships in ’04 & ’07, quickly turned into embarrassment in 2011.  By 2012, the Red Sox were a caricature, a punch line, led by an overmatched Manager who seemingly was only good at alienating players and being a hindrance to team chemistry and success.  The result? A 93-loss season and a pissed off Red Sox Nation.

Just look at this guy…

 

Even as the Red Sox brass, led by GM Ben Cherington, acquired players in the off-season, the Nation’s frustration needle did not move. The Sox failed to acquire any impact free agents like Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke and instead opted for peripheral players.  Players who could fill holes in the lineup but were not perceived as impact players.  I recall numerous radio shows from the Boston market spending days on end feeding the anger of RSN by admonishing the Sox brass for not signing big name players after dumping a large chunk of their payroll in 2012 (Beckett, Crawford & Gonzalez). Some urged the fans to stay away from the ballpark in protest.  And many did!  The 10-year sellout streak of 820 games came to an unceremonious end in early April. (EDITORS NOTE: FENWAY holds like 4700 people, so let’s just chill out with this “streak”)

The Red Sox got out of the gate quick and darted out front of the A.L. East pack right from Opening Day.  Still, only a small minority in Red Sox Nation truly believed.  And then, they kept winning and grinning.  This team, unlike the boorish and standoffish stars from 2011 & 2012, seemed happy and passionate about playing the game.  The Sox have not lost 4 games in a row this entire season.  No other team can make that claim. What we thought were smaller pieces that the Ben Cherington put together this off-season, has turned out to be the perfect pieces to create a well-oiled machine!

Every successful season seems to have a specific “defining moment” that turns the season around, bonds the team, creates momentum and fires up the fans. The 2004 season had the Jason Varitek – Alex Rodriguez scuffle on July 24th that seemed to be the lynchpin that sparked the Sox the rest of the way.  This year was no different.  Three weeks into the season, the Marathon Bombings rocked Boston.  As often happens, we turn to sports for our relief, our outlet and the Boston sports teams rose to the occasion.  That day, that game will always stick out in my mind as the day the 2013 Red Sox identity was born and the day that Red Sox Nation looks back on as this year’s “defining moment.”

How can anyone forget April 20th, that first game back in Boston after the Marathon bombings? That was the day that Big Papi slung an F-Bomb in front of a national audience and galvanized Boston and RSN by claiming, “This is our f’ing city and nobody’s gonna dictate our freedom, Stay Strong!”

 

I was 1,600 miles away, in Florida and I got the chills when I heard those words, was never prouder of being from the Boston area. Not for the F-Bomb, but for those words and the passion and conviction behind them. (ED: Come on Jimmy, the f-bomb made you a little proud…)

Later, in the bottom of the 8th inning, trailing by a run, Jonny Gomes doubled to lead off the inning to spark a 3 run rally.  As Gomes stood on 2nd base, he flexed both arms as a tribute to the “Boston Strong” mantra, a tradition that has carried throughout the season for the Sox. By the time Daniel Nava hit his 3-run homer later in that 8th inning, RSN was again firmly behind this team.

Some might say the Red Sox “had me at this f’ing city” that day.  I know they had me!  You see, Big Papi symbolized the Boston spirit in that moment as perfectly as anyone could; A spirit of tenacity, resiliency and unity. And in reality, Big Papi also captured the essence of the 2013 Red Sox, though it took us a little longer to realize it.  TRU…Tenacity, Resiliency and Unity!  Those words perfectly epitomize both the city of Boston and the 2013 Boston Red Sox.  TRU that!

                            Share

 

Tell Jimmy Derochea what you think: 

 

Jimmy has never jumped off of the Red Sox bandwagon, though he did stub his toe a bit in 2011!

 

Comments

comments