red_sox_2004 2004 is a year that I will hold near and dear to my heart for many reasons. One reason is that I got married to Jess, who is the love of my life. A close second…er um…well maybe not a close second, but a nearby second like leaving room for the Holy Ghost distance, was when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. (Phew, that could have been bad.)

Okay where was I? Ah yes! The Red Sox winning a championship to finally reverse the curse. Here is how it all went down for me as a Boston fan. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were living in New Hampshire. The wedding was on October 15th in New Jersey. Jess left for New Jersey before I did to do some last minute prep before the wedding. So having my last few moments as a single guy in my bachelor pad I had my best man and another groomsman over to watch the Red Sox take on the New York Yankees for Game 1 of the ALCS.

We had some beer, pizza, and played poker as the game started. Curt Schilling went up against Yankees ace Mike Mussina. We all felt confident since Schilling had a 6–1 postseason career record. Still it didn’t matter as Mussina retired the first nineteen Red Sox batters. Schilling gave up six runs and the final score of 10-7 really didn’t mean too much since it was the playoffs and the Sox was down 0-1 in the series.

The very next day was Game 2. Again my friends came over. We played poker, had some beers, and we watched another game where the Red Sox lost to the dreaded Yankees.

Game 3 had the venue move from New York to Boston. Yet my friends and I did the exact opposite. We drove down to New Jersey from New Hampshire. With the series moving to Fenway Park, Game 3 was originally scheduled for October 15, my wedding day, but was postponed a day due to rain. I even had the DJ announce to our guests that Game 3 was cancelled.

To be honest I didn’t even watch Game 3, which was on October 16th. My wife and I just got to Playa del Carmen. We were on our honeymoon. Someone in the lobby told me the next day that they Yankees shellacked the Sox 19-8. I guess that is what I get for wearing a Manny Ramirez jersey out in public. But like David Puddy said, “You gotta support the team!”

Yup the series was over. The Evil Empire would move on to play in another World Series. There was no way the Sox could come back right? Well we all know what happened. The Sox ran the table and won the next four games to beat the Yankees in dramatic fashion.

I remember watching Game 4 in Mexico. The telecast was in Spanish. Where was the English button on the remote? I couldn’t find it. I didn’t care. I was still loving the fact it wouldn’t be a sweep. Then Game 5 and Game 6 happened to go Boston’s way. Still watching the game in Spanish and still loving it.

GAME 7! THE RED SOX DID IT! THEY DID IT! A BUNCH OF IDIOTS BEAT THE YANKEES! THEY ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!redsox

They were set to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Half of the World Series I watched in Mexico and the other two games I saw back in the states. We just got back to New Hampshire for Game 4. My wife was tired from the long trip and went to bed. My friends called me up to see if I wanted to go to Boston with them to celebrate if the Red Sox swept the series.

I told them no, because I just got back from our honeymoon and had to do some laundry. (Yep, you read that correctly.) So I remember watching Game 4 alone in my apartment drinking a Sam Adams. Don’t get me wrong I was loving the fact the Red Sox won. The journey the team took us fans on was crazy that year. For me as a big sports guy, the 2004 Red Sox postseason will always be up there in my top 5 sports moments. So here is to a bunch of idiots!

At that time I had a 20 inch TV with no surround sound. So while the Red Sox sweeping the Cards to win the World Series was great, it would been even better if I had a big screen TV and sick sound system. How awesome would it have been to see those loveable idiots dancing around the ballpark like a bunch a kids at recess on a big screen TV after winning it all?

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