Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, the 2013 World Series Champions. I have to admit, at the beginning of the season, I didn’t think the Red Sox would amount to much this previous Major League season, but, I am happily wrong.
Give credit to the Sox for showing some guts and beating one the best teams and most consistent squads in baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals. It was an odd World Series, too. In Game 3, we had the first ever World Series game to end on an obstruction call. The first ever postseason game to end in a pick-off was Game 4. And, the Red Sox won their first World Series at home since 1918 in Game 6. And what a year for the Red Sox too.
On April 15, Boston suffered a series of bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The bombings killed three and injured 264 people and it shook the city and the 117-year old race to its core. Sporting events in one of the best sports towns in the country were suspended. But what followed were emotional tributes and unbelievable shows of patriotism.
One of those came at this nation’s greatest ball park. David Ortiz, the only member of the Red Sox to have played in all three of Boston’s championships in the last ten season, gave an emotional speech in the first game at Fenway following the bombing. In the speech, Ortiz gave Boston a rallying cry for the season:
“This is our [expletive] city!” Ortiz said. “And nobody’s going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.”
That cry led Boston to a first place finish in the tough AL East, a division in which they were projected to finish last. The Sox got hot at the right time and eventually won the Series. Well done.
But there’s more to it. During Saturday’s victory parade, the Red Sox went down Boylston Street and passed the finish line of the Boston Marathon. At the line, the parade stopped and outfielder Jonny Gomes placed the World Series trophy on the finish line. There was then a singing of “God Bless America” before the parade resumed.
Back in April, I wrote a column just after the marathon saying that, because of the way that Americans come together following tragedies, the future editions of the marathon were going to be bigger and better, with all those who are a part of it ready to write a new legacy.
It’s been interesting for me to watch the two way street that forming a new community makes. Boston and the nation came together for themselves; they came together to help others. The Red Sox came together for others. They played for Boston and all that she stands for and was able to give Red Sox Nation a third World Series in ten years. And, that is special. It’s so special that even if Boston doesn’t win another World Series ever again, there will always be a special place in Red Sox Nation for this victory.
