Where Were You?
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I was at my neighbor's house. My boys were allowed to stay up late. (But if it looks like it won't happen, you'll have to go to bed!) Food and drink were plenty and yes, bubbly was chilling. The Red Sox had already done the impossible - they had come back from being down 0-3 in the ALCS. It was October 27, 2004 and the Red Sox were up 3 games to none over the Saint Louis Cardinals. And then it happened.....
mlb.com
mlb.com
The final out was made and what almost every Red Sox fan alive that day had waited their entire lives to see had finally happened....The Boston Red Sox were the World Series Champions!
posted on YouTube by ccma2000
I will never forget how I felt. There was a slight delay in emotions as I processed the information. The Red Sox had won? Oh....My....God....THE RED SOX WON!!! Joe Buck had made the final call...
Back to Foulke, Red Sox fans have longed to hear it: The Boston Red Sox are World Champions.
And all heck had broken lose in the stands in St.Louis, in bars and in homes all across Red Sox Nation. We were yelling and screaming and hugging. After 86 years the Red Sox had won it all. And it felt GOOD! The players went crazy on the field and the 3,000 Red Sox faithful who traveled to St. Louis went crazy in the stands. Derek Lowe was the winning pitcher that night and he became the FIRST major league pitcher to ever win 3 series clinching games (ALDS, ALCS and WS) in a single season. It was the third straight game that a Red Sox starting pitcher had not allowed an earned run.
cbsnews.com
Keith Foulke came in to pitch the 9th inning and when that final out was bounced back to him by Edgar Renteria, Foulke picked it up and underhanded it to Doug Mientkiewicz - he wasn't taking any chances. The game was played under a full moon/lunar eclipse and it was on the exact day of game 7 of the heartbreaking 1986 World Series. But the Red Sox were not to be denied. As was reported by Dan Shaughnessy the next day in the Boston Globe:
On Opening Day, April 11, 2005 the Rings were handed out. Great Red Sox players from the past were there (Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Pesky and Yaz) as well as sports greats from the Boston Bruins (Bobby Orr), Boston Celtics (Bill Russell) and the New England Patriots (Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour). There were Championship trophies from the other Boston sports teams. (It was also the first time since 1980 that one city had had 2 Super Bowl Champions and a World Series Champion in the course of 12 months.) And this said all that we in Boston needed to know:
cbsnews.com
Keith Foulke came in to pitch the 9th inning and when that final out was bounced back to him by Edgar Renteria, Foulke picked it up and underhanded it to Doug Mientkiewicz - he wasn't taking any chances. The game was played under a full moon/lunar eclipse and it was on the exact day of game 7 of the heartbreaking 1986 World Series. But the Red Sox were not to be denied. As was reported by Dan Shaughnessy the next day in the Boston Globe:
They did it for the old folks in Presque Isle, Maine, and White River
Junction, Vt. They did it for the baby boomers in North Conway, N.H.,
and Groton, Mass. They did it for the kids in Central Falls, R.I., and
Putnam, Conn. While church bells rang in small New England towns and horns honked on
the crowded streets of the Hub, the 2004 Red Sox last night won the
World Series.
And that is something I don't think fans of other teams can really understand. The Red Sox didn't just win for Boston - they won for an entire region! They won for so many people who cared for so many years. They won for all those fans who never got to see it. There were no cocky fans walking around belittling other teams. There was a Nation of Believers. And that was the rallying cry that year.
http://blog.craftzine.com
http://blog.craftzine.com
And while we had new legends born that season - Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Keith Foulke, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Mark Bellhon, Jason Varitek, and Orlando Cabrera among others, there is a reason that the next day it was time to toast:
Ted Williams, Tom Yawkey, Sherm Feller, Dick O'Connell, Haywood
Sullivan, Joe Cronin, Eddie Collins, Tony Conigliaro, Ned Martin, Helen
Robinson, Jack Rogers, and thousands of others who toiled for the team,
but died before seeing their Sox win a World Series.
And we knew who would be smiling:
Carl Yastrzemski, Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, Charlie Wagner, Gene
Conley, Bill Monbouquette, Chuck Schilling, John McNamara, Joe Morgan,
Earl Wilson, Mike Andrews, Reggie Smith, and hundreds of other men who
wore the Red Sox uniform, but never won in October. And don't forget
Curt Gowdy, Lou Gorman, Dick Bresciani, Joe Mooney, and all the ushers
and Sox employees who are as much a part of Fenway Park as the Green
Monster and Pesky's Pole.
We here in Boston always honor those sports hero that came before. Records might be broken, but never without paying homage to those who came first. And while this might have been the first World Series in 86 years, the team would not be have been who they were that day without all those great players who came before them. Red Sox Nation is not just about today - it is yesterday, today and tomorrow all rolled up in one.
And did we have a parade!
And did we have a parade!
When it is the first parade you have in 86 years you have to due it up right! So on Saturday, October 30, 2004 - a whole slew of duck boats were called up to drive the Red Sox not only through the streets of Boston but also on the Charles River so that more fans would have an opportunity to cheer their team on. Some players made their feelings known during the parade..
boston.com
boston.com
And others didn't forget the players who had an early vacation that season...
On Opening Day, April 11, 2005 the Rings were handed out. Great Red Sox players from the past were there (Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Pesky and Yaz) as well as sports greats from the Boston Bruins (Bobby Orr), Boston Celtics (Bill Russell) and the New England Patriots (Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour). There were Championship trophies from the other Boston sports teams. (It was also the first time since 1980 that one city had had 2 Super Bowl Champions and a World Series Champion in the course of 12 months.) And this said all that we in Boston needed to know:
posted on YouTube by Numbnutz1
And in 2007 the Red Sox would once again win the World Series by way of the sweep. That World Series win felt awesome also, but there is no denying it - NO World Series will ever feel quite as good as the one we won in 2004.
posted on YouTube by Fadedhour
"Time for the Nation to rejoice. Time to dance. Time to go to your window, open it wide, stick your head out and scream, ``The Red Sox won the World Series.''
We Believe was great, but Refuse To Lose, the motto of the 1995 Mariners, is the best motto, hands down.
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Who do you think will be the team of the decade? Red Sox...Yankees...Phillies, if they win it this year?
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Julia,
I had a huge smile on my face as I read this, and I always tear up when I watch that video. I really liked Joe Buck's call, and it always gives me chills. It was crazy, and absolutely fabulous. They won it for everyone.
Elizabeth
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Great blog, Julia:-) I was at home recovering from surgery when the Sox won it all in '04. It made me appreciate Schill's bloody sock pitching performances all the more! The first night I was home from the hospital was Game 5 of the ALCS, which, naturally, was 14 innings long! LOL Thanks for sharing your memories of 10/27/04. It's a day no one in Red Sox Nation will ever forget.
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I was at home, empty beer cans all around, wallowing in a sea of my own tears. But we were patient and got ours too... in 2006.
--Jeff
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Here we are in 2009 and the Yankees are in the World Series, Brad Mills is in Houston, and the Red Sox are home watching Grey's Anatomy! I didn't know this was a retro blog! ;) Yes, the LA Lakers got off to a great start last night, complete with their rings. I am looking forward to the NBA Finals between the Lakers and the...Cavaliers! :)
Scott
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I remember watching the '04 series and the on-field celebration, and wondered why Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore were on the field (you could briefly see them being filmed). Then of course "Fever Pitch" came out - which I think is a very funny movie, even for non-Boston fans. Last year's Phillies victory was memorable too, especially since it occurred at a decent hour, thanks to that suspended game. I hope to see another this year, of course it will be November (!) by then.
Sue
Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts
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Jules, an 86 year drought followed by a dynasty.. .go figure.. .baseball!
Buz - http://buzblog.mlblogs.com/
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Where was I? Glued to the set for every game, the couch was simply an accessory--I was pacing until the final pitch of every game! The final pitch and toss? I was jumping up and down for days, sighing and hollering, pumping my fist! And then we did it again in 07! That was a different exhilaration, but it was just as sweet to me! ;)
If there is a "team of the decade" we have to be at least in the discussion!!!
GO SOX!
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