October 27, 2004

October 27, 2004

Still rocks me to my core

I watched the win with my kid sister

Neither of us said a word when it was over
We were in stunned silence for minutes

One of us finally blurted out
Holy shit! Did we just win?
Yeah, we just won
Fuck - we just won
WE JUST WON!!!!!

We let out a whoop, a single whoop, hugged
And then I went home
I think we were in shock

Drove with a goofy grin on my face, windows rolled down, WEEI turned up
From Watertown to Medford, people were on the streets, spilling out of house cheering, laughing, screaming, crying

When I got home, my landlady and I shared a class of champagne together
Which turned into three (ok fine, the bottle)
Then we drank beer

We sat on the front stoop in silence for about 20 minutes
The people across the street were screaming and yelling enough for the whole street

I never thought I'd see it she said
I know
I just saw it she said
You did I replied
I wish my Mom could have seen it
I know I said
Is your grandfather a fan? she asked
He is I said, though he has a soft spot for the Braves
I bet he is losing it about now she said
Probably...not as much as my Uncle John Demaso...but I'm sure Grampy is pretty excited

Grampy died a little over a month later at the age of 91
But he saw them win
For the first time in 86 years

I went to the Parade with my youngest sister, her roommate and Karen Smith

Karen, by the way, almost did not come because she had laundry to do
The Red Sox win for the first time in 86 years and Karen says she may not come to the Parade because she has no clean clothes

WTF Karen Smith?!?!

I have a washer Karen
I know but....
Karen! The Red Sox just won! for the first time in 86 years...
I know but.....
KAREN! You will put your dirty laundry in a basket, you will put the basket in the car, you will come to Boston....WE HAVE TO GO TO THE PARADE!!! THEY WON
OK OK I'll come

It literally took that long to convince her

Karen drove 6+ hours on Friday night from Baltimore after work for the Parade...dirty laundry in tow

We did her laundry and stocked up on snacks for the next day
I remember wandering through the grocery store at 11pm that night giggling and giddy because we were going to a Parade

A Parade because the Red Sox won the World Fucking Series

We met my sister and Katie at Back Bay and headed towards the Library
The crowds were overwhelming
The vibe was amazing
And even though it was cold and a bit windy, no one cared

The Curse was broken

Our backpacks were filled with food and booze......you know, to keep us going throughout the day because we were not taking breaks for food or drink
No way were we going to miss a moment of this

We took nips out of a flask
We jumped up and down to stay warm
Every once in awhile, one of use would say I can't believe we won!
I don't think we ate a thing

For some reason, Karen and I felt the need to purchase the biggest container of hummus we could find....
Because nothing says Fuck you Curse of the Bambino like an 18oz Party Size Container of hummus

I don't even think we opened the hummus
But we had it just in case

To this day, hummus makes me think of the Parade.....
....Of the Duck Boats Boats filled with the players, their families, the team owners, the coaches, the management

The players were taking pictures and video of us just as we were taking pictures and video of them as they rolled by

I am not sure any person on the streets that day, player, fan, or coach, had fully processed what had happened

But we were all there celebrating

Laughing, crying, cheering, yelling, drinking. still crying, screaming, dancing, whooping...

It was the best party I have ever been to in my life

2004
2007
2013

Those last two have yet to sink in

And though I relish those wins, nothing will ever be like 2004.....