So Good! So Good! So Good!!!

Yesterday I got off the Government Center T stop to find the streets already lined with people for the victory parade. Initially I was amazed at the sheer crowd and then remembered, this is Red Sox Nation after all, and we know how to celebrate.

They say Red Sox fans are known to be manic-depressive; often getting grandiose about their team's achievements until disaster strikes and we lose a pennant, playoff game or World Series. This is when fans then slip into the depressive and bitter state. The cycle usually only lasts until the next season is underway and the mania takes over again. Well, when we win the mania goes to an unprecedented level. On one end of the plaza was a huge jumbotron already set up for the occasion as well as a press platform with huge cameras that looked like they could see through my underwear, the lenses were so ginormous. One follow-up news report stated the following: "The last time the Red Sox won the World Series gas was over $2, a man named George W. Bush was in the White House and the New England Patriots were considered to be the best team in the NFL." I had to laugh. Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose.

Call me crazy but even the crankiest, most harried person had a slight smile on their lips as they rushed passed the men handing out the Boston Now paper. There's one in particular who's consistently there. While I never want the paper (I read it once and it was more like Star magazine than a reliable news source), I make sure to smile at the people giving them out to let them know it's nothing personal. This also tends to shock the socks off of them since most people ignore them. But I digress... one morning I came out from the T stop and this man was doing his thing when I looked him in the eye and smiled. He has a fairly loud voice which he typically uses to shout, "Boston NOW! Get it now, get it later. Boston NOW!" He stopped for a moment, possibly surprised I even acknowledged his existence and as I walked away yelled after me, "Yeah girl, you keep smiling like dat aaaaaall day long!" I felt fabulous. We've had this sort of relationship ever since.

My Boston Now man was in an even more chipper mood than usual, telling commuters to enjoy the parade. The assembled crowd was already whooping and holloring. Lest you think it consisted of just a bunch of bored college kids looking for an excuse to get wasted, let me tell you about the many, many parents with children. Now, I know those parents have jobs and I know those kids didn't have the day off school but everyone was there to have a taste of the magic.

During our morning huddle my manager mentioned the parade would probably be in our neighborhood around 1:30 and if we wanted to disappear for a couple of hours, that was okay but we couldn't come back drunk. As for me, I didn't actually go to the parade which snaked right in front of my building. I looked out from the windows of my ivory tower at the crowd which was at least a dozen deep and even from the 18th floor, I could hear the roar. One of my coworkers had binoculars so I could see just about everything I wanted to: Manny, Varitek, Big Papi, the trophy, Papelbon... all up close! There were a lot of brooms, symbolizing the "sweep." Many chanted "Sign Lowell" as the owners drove by and there were plenty who had something to say about A-Rod. Although under-appreciated by his own Yankees fans, I think he turned his nose up at the Red Sox once and that's a one shot deal. He can go play golf with Johnny Damon and think about the few teams able to even afford him while we hoist our latest trophy high in the air and sing along to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline. Good times never seemed so good.

Boston is a town famous for it's brash residents but those who have lived here long enough know under that tough exterior is a tender heart that beats for it's baseball team. Go Sox!!!