Random Thoughts:
The Red Sox have won the 2007 World Series. There are lines at Bob's Stores and Sports Authority. My students and I are proudly wearing our Sox gear. The Fenway Faithful did it again and now we are relishing in the second championship in three years. A colleague of mine asked how I can watch so many games only to have the chance of it all thrown away in one day in September or October. My answer is simple. It is because it is more than a baseball game. The Red Sox symbolize faith. They symbolize unity not only on a team but between people. My fiance is from North Dakota (now a born-again Red Sox fan), and she said she has never seen anything like this. We would be out with friends watching a game (during the regular season and post) and end up talking to strangers about our thoughts on payrolls, lineups, and slapping hands and hugging on good plays and homeruns. When we talk about the the team Sox fans say "we" almost as though we are a part of the team/organization. The Red Sox are about community. The "water cooler" talk is omniscient throughout New England. It gives us something to bring us together, perhaps a bridge to get two people to talk to each other. Baseball is the great American pasttime. The talented Bart Giamatti (an avid Red Sox fan) said it best,
"Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun. "
EXTRA CREDIT to ALL my students:
The Red Sox have won the 2007 World Series. There are lines at Bob's Stores and Sports Authority. My students and I are proudly wearing our Sox gear. The Fenway Faithful did it again and now we are relishing in the second championship in three years. A colleague of mine asked how I can watch so many games only to have the chance of it all thrown away in one day in September or October. My answer is simple. It is because it is more than a baseball game. The Red Sox symbolize faith. They symbolize unity not only on a team but between people. My fiance is from North Dakota (now a born-again Red Sox fan), and she said she has never seen anything like this. We would be out with friends watching a game (during the regular season and post) and end up talking to strangers about our thoughts on payrolls, lineups, and slapping hands and hugging on good plays and homeruns. When we talk about the the team Sox fans say "we" almost as though we are a part of the team/organization. The Red Sox are about community. The "water cooler" talk is omniscient throughout New England. It gives us something to bring us together, perhaps a bridge to get two people to talk to each other. Baseball is the great American pasttime. The talented Bart Giamatti (an avid Red Sox fan) said it best,
"Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun. "
EXTRA CREDIT to ALL my students:
- Read the selection from A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamattiby (http://mason.gmu.edu/~rmatz/giamatti.html)
- Reflect on 2 things that struck/interested you and 1 things you would like to know more about in a post. You should relate the reading and this post to your own life and experiences.
5 comments:
Ok, so this isn't exactly the "Alumni Blogspot" but i had to comment.
I'm actually not even going to comment on the whole redsox dynasty illusion.
For once, I completely agree with you. Even though I don't have a membership card to Red Sox Nation, I still go to every meeting. It truly epitomizes the heart of where we Bostonian/New Englanders come from and how we live our lives.
Living far from home, people are often perplexed with why I watch all the sox games and news stories, when I'm clearly a Yankees fan. They could not understand why the World Series was all I could talk about...when my team had been eliminated weeks before. I explained to them that its a way of life. You can't be absent from it and still truly understand where we come from. The Red Sox are my tie to home and the culture I miss so much. I think Boston is so unique because in any other city, you walk down the street and no one looks you in the eye. In Boston, you wear a sox jersey (or worse, a Yankees jersey) and strangers come up and a. ask what you are wearing (to me at least) and then you're best friends discussing stats, predictions, games, etc.
I think its a wonderful thing to believe in something you have no control over. I've realized since leaving Boston how lucky I am to have such a uniting factor back home.
There's nothing that can compare to what New England offers. Leave for a little while, and you'll discover this too.
:)
Dude, Go SOX! From Gagne arrival, they all said how he would be a great addition. Well now there makign shirts since hes leaving saying GONE YA!
Alright so I was inspired by Rachael's post and felt that I should write one myself. Having just experienced the Red Sox playoff run on a college campus in New England, I am reminded that this is more than just a game. It's not just baseball and it's certainly not just a team. It's a thread that ties together people that may otherwise never interact. It's a community that can rally and believe even when all odds are against them. After spending the month of October watching each and every playoff game in Vermont with my good friends, what was even better was traveling back home to Boston for the parade. I was lucky enough to spend the day with two of my new friends from St.Mike's as well as Stacey Allen (one of my best friends from home), and her roommate (Erica). Stacey and Erica had never met my friends from school before, but together we had a perfect day in the city because if nothing else, we had the Red Sox celebration to tie us together. The atmosphere that pervaded Boston was amazing. I honestly don't think that any other city in the country could compete with our fan support and our faith. I agree with Rach when she says that it's a wonderful thing to believe in something that is bigger than yourself. I hope everyone can appreciate not only this World Series victory, but also the uniqueness of Red Sox Nation and all it had to offer.
:)
Hey Mr.T its bukowski just showen your blog some love and Go Sox
As a sox fan, and an all around boston fan, i respect your deep love for the red sox and i agree that it's more than a game. Even when they don't make the playoffs after a bad season or blow it in the world series, it's not like you should give up in them because they let you down. Cause every season you know they'll be back next year. You can see how much that a team making it as far as they did can bring together a town. And those are just two of the many resons it's more than just a game. Same as with the Bruins. Ever since our prime time in the seventies, the Bruins have sucked. The Bruins are one of the original six teams and have only won the Stanley Cup 5 times! Only 5! Yet i still watch the Bruins every chance i get. Is that just a game, no, and it's the same case with the Sox. Go Sox!
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