Congratulations once again to the Red Sox, who just completed one of the hottest runs in postseason history to win the World Series. I guess once every 86 years or so I can handle the Sox being champions. I fully expect, as Lis Riba's husband Ian suggested, that the mortality rate in New England will spike, since everyone who's been hanging on to see the Sox win the Series in their lifetime can now die happy. Cub fans everywhere are surely taking heart.
You know, it must really suck to be a Chicago White Sox fan. They're totally overshadowed by the Red Sox and the now-defunct Curse of the Bambino, and the Cubs and the Billy Goat Curse. Their team hasn't been champs since 1917 (the year before the last Red Sox title), but there's no pop culture attached to it. Hell, nobody besides them even knows about it. I mean, did you know that it's been 87 years since the Southsiders won the Series and 45 years since their last pennant? How about Cleveland, which won its last World Series in 1948? And then of course, there's the Astros (sigh), who have never won a pennant. At least they got some attention for finally winning a playoff series, even if it was just the Division Series. Some teams are luckier than others in their misfortunes, I suppose.
So anyway. Congrats to the Sox. Enjoy the victory, savor it through the winter and spring. But don't get too attached to it. You know better than I how hard it can be to do it again.
UPDATE: Pete shares a few thoughts.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on October 28, 2004 to Baseball | TrackBackI watched with emotional pain (and through an earthquake) when the 1989 Giants were humiliated by the Oakland A's. It was a thrashing, though many of us still use the quake as an excuse for why a team failed to show up ready to play. (And I don't even want to talk about Game 6 of the 2002 Series.)
But I think the 2004 Cardinals blew away those Giants in terms of being outgunned, outmanned, and just generally showing up completely unprepared to play. I'm not sure I've ever seen a pennant winner -- especially not a regular season 105-game winner -- look this putrid in the World Series.
And here in Astroland, fans have to shake their heads and wonder why the Cardinals -- especially their big bats in the middle of the lineup -- couldn't go AWOL for just *one* of the final two days of the NLCS as they did for the entire series against the Red Sox.
The White Sox have probably the least good karma of any team in the major leagues. It ALL stems from the way the shafted around Carlton Fisk in his later years. Making him sign a minor league contract etc. etc. Call it the Curse of Pudge.
Posted by: Chris on October 28, 2004 9:35 AMIt's interesting to see how the entire city of Chicago isn't viewed as having a curse of some form or another. At least the Red Sox last made it to the World Series in 1986 before winning it last night. The city of Chicago last saw a World Series in 1945, and the Cubs haven't won it since 1908.
Somehow, though a "1917" or "1908" chant doesn't work as well as "1918" did.
Posted by: William Hughes on October 28, 2004 9:40 AMI forgot about the 1959 White Sox making it to the Series. Still, the city hasn't seen a winner since 1917.
Posted by: William Hughes on October 28, 2004 9:42 AM"there's no pop culture attached to it."
What about the Black Sox?
Posted by: Chris Quinones on October 28, 2004 1:21 PMI fully expect, as Lis Riba's husband Ian suggested, that the mortality rate in New England will spike, since everyone who's been hanging on to see the Sox win the Series in their lifetime can now die happy.
Sorry to spoil the fun, but the myth that elderly people can prolong their lives just long enough to experience a personally meaningful event has been recently busted.
Posted by: Mathwiz on October 28, 2004 3:04 PMThe Giants haven't won a WS since before the move West, this Dodgers fan says gleefully. ;)
Posted by: Linkmeister on October 28, 2004 4:12 PMSorry to spoil the fun, but the myth that elderly people can prolong their lives just long enough to experience a personally meaningful event has been recently busted.
Well, scientific research in this case is evidence pointing toward an explanation, but not absolute proof. Maybe it's not true in any case. But I very vividly remember something from my childhood which makes me believe otherwise.
When I was about ten, my grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer. They treated it with chemo and stuff, but the writing was pretty much on the wall that it was terminal. By August 1976, he was looking really bad, as in less-than-a-month-to-live bad. He was extremely thin, frail and couldn't stand up as I recall. About this time we were planning a fairly big extended family Thanksgiving get-together up at my uncle's ranch. He was talking about being there, despite being on what seemed like his death bed. There was no way he can make it by then, and even if he did...would he be well enough to know it?
As the weeks went by, Grandpa was looking a little better but really, not much change. There was some surprise that he was hanging on and not seeming to get worse. Weeks turned to months and, to our surprise, Grandpa was still with us.
Thanksgiving 1976 arrived at my Uncle Tom's house (yeah, I know); I was 11 years old. Not only did he make it that long despite the odds -- he had gained weight. The color in his cheeks was back. He put on his best suit and, while he couldn't do so for long periods of time, he was standing on his own and walking around a bit. While the pain in his lungs was searing, he was smiling, cracking jokes almost constantly, and making all his sons, in-laws and grandchildren laugh and smile themselves.
We're not sure how he made it. But immediately after the event, he began to quickly slide again. On December 13, 1976, he passed away; he was 68.
So maybe science can point to some unlikelihood that people can "will themselves to live." But even that is probably a 95% confidence, "average case" kind of thing. I believe some people can, for fairly short periods of time at least, find the inner strength to carry on just a little bit longer. Anyone who saw my Grandpa in the last three months of his life would never believe otherwise.