It's Gonna Make It Hard To Tell You That I'm Leaving

I remember the night of October 27, 2004 for two reasons. First of all, it was 'intramural night' for GSP, one of the most challenging pledging events we have, except that by 2004, I was a member, and on the giving end of all the torture. I also remember 10/27/04 because it was the night the Boston Red Sox finally put an end to 86 years of bad luck and won the World Series by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 0, by far the greatest memory I have as a baseball fan.

At that point in my life, I had never been to Boston and had never seen them play in person, yet they were my favorite team in the Majors after the Rangers. This affection for the BoSox started when I was a kid and my dad told me A) How much we (and by 'we,' I mean Agans, for generations and generations) hate the Yankees and everything about them and B) His memories of the summer of 1978, when he was taking summer classes at UT and rooming with a friend who happened to be, yes, a Yankees fan. That summer, the Red Sox had a huge lead in the standings, and looked for all the world like they were finally going to break the Curse. Just when Red Sox fans were feeling comfortable with their 14 game division lead, the Yanks made a furious second half comeback, capped by the 'Boston Massacre,' a four game sweep in Fenway Park. After winning a one-game playoff, the Yankees went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games to win the World Series.

In part because of this hatred toward the Yanks, I became a Sox fan by default, and pulled for them every October, since by then, the Rangers were way out of the pennant race. I remember the pain that Aaron Boone caused in game game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, and how hopeless I felt after the first three games of the 2004 ALCS. When Dave Roberts stole second in game 4 that year, hope was alive, and after an unprecedented rally from three down, the BoSox were in the World Series, and honestly, the Cardinals didn't stand a chance.

I write all this because, well, times have changed. After winning the 2004 Series, the Sox became, overnight, America's Sweetheart. It's literally impossible to walk across a college campus (coughcoughACUcough) and NOT see at least 5 Red Sox hats being worn, most likely by fans who, pre-2004 didn't know a thing about the Sox. The bandwaggoning continued to grow, and after the Sox won the 2007 World Series, reached epidemic portions.

I got to witness this phenomenon last night at the Juice Box, just two weeks after experiencing the power that is the Yankee fan. Let me start by saying this: For all the crap I've given friends who actually like the Yankees (I'm looking at you, Luke Reeves and Michelle Oakley), I have to admit, they have great, great fans, even on the road. Going into the game against New York two weeks ago, I knew we'd be in for a long night of obnoxious "Let's Go Yankees!" clap, clap, clapclapclap chants. Well, I was right. There was probably a 60-40 split in Astros to Yankee fans, but the Yankee fans were much more vocal than the 'Stros fans, and cheered for their Bombers every chance they got.

Heading to the game last night, I expected the same from BoSox fans. I was wrong. While the Stros fans/Sox fans split was at least as close as it was against the Yanks, the Sox fans were shockingly, ehh, what's the word? Uninterested? (Doubt that, they wouldn't be there if they were uninterested) Unfamiliar with the players? (Not a chance, Boston's on ESPN more than Chris Berman) Tired? (No way, the game started at 6, an hour earlier than most evening games in Houston) What was it then? I mean, why did all these Red Sox 'fans' only cheer when Manny, and Kevin Youuuuuuuuukilis came up to bat? Suddenly, it hit me like a Mookie Wilson grounder through the five-hole.

These fans aren't real fans.

They saw the Sox become the darling of sports four years ago, latched on to the bandwagon, scooted farther inward after more fans hopped on last year, and haven't let go since.

I should have known this would be the case the second we took our seats and saw two middle-school aged boys sitting two rows in front of us wearing brand-spankin-new 'Ramirez 24' T-shirts and bright shiney hats, both of which couldn't have been bought more than two hours before the game. Besides the junior high bandwagonners, to my left were two toolish looking dudes with popped collars and green Sox hats. Disgusting.

For all the arrogance and obnoxiousness of Yankee fans, you have to give it to them-they're real fans. It isn't nearly as popular to cheer for New York as it is Boston, so you know they're the real deal when they show up in visiting ballparks, ready to raise heck and support their team.

Much has been made about this 'Red Sox Nation' phenomenon on other blogs, websites, and television shows, so this isn't exactly a new occurrence. Heck, even the most notorious Boston homer, ESPN's the Sports Guy, wrote an article about the absurdity of the Sox bandwagon last year.

All that to say-I've made up my mind to depledge my allegiance to Red Sox Nation. This is a decision I have been thinking about for almost a year now, and after last night, that decision is final. It's become too easy to be a Red Sox fan, and way too convenient to ride the coattails of a team you know is going to win than it is to stay with a team through thick and thin. I'll still root for them to beat the Yankees of course, but I can't in my right mind cheer for a team that I honestly have no real connection with, and one that 13 year olds across the nation openly pull for only because they know the Sox are good, and because middle schoolers have no soul.

This choice isn't anything against the Sox players. Heck, they seem to be pretty cool guys. Youkilis, Manny, Lowell, Varitek, etc are all great players, seem to be generally good guys, and there's really not anything to dislike about the team. (Side note: After the game, we were driving away from the ballpark and I saw a dreaklocked Latino riding in the back of a golf cart. After doing a double or triple take, I realized, 'Holy cow, that's Manny Ramirez!' I hurriedly rolled down my window, stuck my arm out, waved and shouted, "Mannn-eeeeee!!" And yes, he saw me and waved back. Who's the man.) It's just that, what's the fun in rooting for a team you have no real connection to when you know they're always going to win? That's like rooting for Wal-Mart or Big Oil in 2008, or the Black Plague in 1400.

For those who are die-hard Red Sox fans-those who suffered through 1978, 1986, 2003, and so many other heartbreaking years, I have no problem with the success they've enjoyed recently. If the Rangers ever reach the point that Boston has these past four years, I'll be extremely happy and proud that 'my team' finally made it to the top.

For now, however, I have to be honest with myself and realize that I'm not a tried and true BoSox fan, and more importantly-no one likes a bandwagon hopper.

Goodbye, old friend, it was fun while it lasted

(L-R) Cole Griffith, Me, Garrett Oakley, Brandon Maenius, Fenway Park, March 2005

Call me Maverick, So Dangerous

In an event eerily reminiscent of GSP's 2004 Sing Song Act, a real life 'Top Gun' gets his request for a fly-by revoked. Pilot ignores instruction, suspension ensues.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-fenwaypilotgrounded&prov=ap&type=lgns

Airline pilots beware of us,
Twig

Destiny is calling me, Open up my eager eyes...

Greetings one and all, Twig here. Let me start this portion of greatness with two quick notes: First of all, I'm happy as a lark to be here. I was a semi-frequent contributor at another blog, but it seemed like most of my sports-related talk was over the head of much of the intended audience, so hopefully all three, maybe four people who read this will follow what I'm sayin a little better than my mother-in-law. Secondly, no idea where I got the name 'Twig,' but what Jiggerscout wants, Jiggerscout gets, so ask him. Speaking of Jig, I thought starting this thing off with a recap of the year's sporting events-both good and bad-was a great idea. I'll do a quick overview of my favs, but i'll keep it short since the two of us have a pretty like mind about sports, and I don't want it to seem to redundant. Here they are, in no particular order:

Sweet things about sports in 2007:
-Double Ball, Super Bowl Sunday, Spencer abode, McKinney Texas. If you don't know by now, you'll never know.

-Being lucky enough to be visiting my brother at Oklahoma Christian at the exact time the Big XII tourney was being played in OKC. We were heading back to the TX on Sunday, when we realized that UT was playing Kansas in the championship game that afternoon. I was able to convince my dad to scalp us some tickets after we said our goodbyes to my bro. Anywho, we scored some upper-deckers just before tip-off and proceeded to watch a great battle that went into OT. Unfortunately, the 'Horns fell by a couple of points, but it was a great game, with Kevin Durant going off for 37 in one of his last games as a Longhorn.

-Three of my discus kiddos placing in the 17-3A junior high district track meet. Had no idea what I was doing out there. Good times.

-Scoring a goal in the requisite soccer game out at Brandon's lake house during his bachelor party. That brings my career goals in soccer up to three. Once in youth league, once at ACU intramurals, and that one by the lake.

-Going to the UT-Tech football game in Austin last month with my parents and Kayla. She didn't exactly 'love it,' but it was a great atmosphere and the teams combined for 101 points.

-Spurs winning the NBA championship. Has anyone else realized that, if it weren't for Derek Fisher's miraculous shot with .4 seconds left in the 2004 playoffs, and Manu's idiotic foul of Dirk in the 2006 playoffs that this team could have potentially won five straight titles?

-Being at the game when Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit. Special thanks to Garrett for inviting me and Kayla, and extra special thanks to Derek, Garrett's brother, and his girlfriend, for not going, so we could have the tickets.

Not Sweet Memories:
-Texas Rangers.

-The fumble game against the Seahawks. I was by myself in my apartment in Graham when it went down, and let me tell ya, that's about the lonliest feeling I've experienced as a sports fan. Not good times. Let's never talk about it again, alright?

-UT football. Yikes. I know, I know, "tons of teams would love to be 9-3 at the end of the year." Who cares? I'm tired of the choking in big games, losing crap-fest games to the aggs, and especially for all of the excuses after the games. With a few exceptions, the team underachieved this year, and something needs to change, even though I'm not sure it will. Note to Mack: Get rid of Greg Davis (the offensive coordinator. and I do mean "offensive") and most of the rest of the staff, start over with a new philosophy, and use your players to the best of their abilities.

-Leaving the Biggio game in the top of the 10th, well after number 3,000 was in the books, so we could beat the traffic. We did beat the traffic, but missed Carlos Lee's walk-off GRAND SLAM. Nice idea, G.

-I know this will ruffle a few feathers, but to an extent, the Boston Red Sox. They're still my second-favorite team, but really, how are they any different than the Yankees at this point? We used to hate the Yanks for buying championships, not developing talent, and just outbidding everyone else. Well, folks, the Sawks paid $50 million just to TALK to Dice-K, then proceeded to give him something like an 80 mill contract. Same can be said for a lot of their free agent signings-just pay them more than everyone else, and hope to beat the Yankees to the punch. For those who disagree, please respond and tell me how the Sox are any different than the Yanks nowdays. For the record, I'm still rooting for Boston when the two play.

-Mike Vick, Tom Donaghy, Mitchell Report, etc. Some things you can't escape.

All in all, a pretty entertaining year in sports, looking forward to 2008 already.

That'll be it for now, if anyone is reading I've got a little game for y'all before my next post . In college, Justin Scott and I played a little game where we would spout off Heisman trophy winners as far back as we could remember. I can get to about 1993 or so, but Scotty J can go all the way back to, like, 1974-dudes got the memory of an owl. Or is it elephant? I dunno. Anyway, without doing any research, post the winners as far back as you can remember. You'll have to be honest, it's no fun if you use the internet to cheat. I'll have a follow-up post tomorrow or friday, depending on the responses, and we'll see where we can go with that. Alright folks, you've been great, can't wait to see where this goes.

twig