Opening Day 2004

My son Austin was born in August 2003, and not even being 2 months old, the Red Sox welcomed him to the family by breaking his heart. We had purchased the MLB Extra Innings package and we watched every game that year. My wife was pregnant throughout the season and we dreamed how nice it would be to have the Sox win it on the year he was born.

We "cowboyed up" with Millar and hung on every pitch Pedro made, but it all ended so quickly when Aaron Boone hit Wakefield's knuckler into the crowd. I felt horrible. I remember handing Austin back to my wife, and through tears told her, "Thank you for watching them with me this year." She said, "It is sad," and she had tears in her eyes too. I felt bad because not only did the Sox lose, but as I looked around my family I saw what the Red Sox were doing to it. My wife was in tears, I was heartbroken for a thousandth time, and now I was willingly and encouragely pushing my infant son to be one of us too. At that point I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I felt it was my fault, that I had told them, "look how fun the Red Sox are," but I had lied. I felt it was like a defective gene that must be passed on to the next generation and I couldn't do anything about it. As always though, we hung in there, we survived and it only made 2004 that much better.

I came across this article I wrote on opening day 2004 and this picture of my son which was posted on The Remy Report on opening day 2004 as well. I like to think that maybe, it began something that year that lead to us winning it all. Little did I know, that "Wait till next year!" was this year! -Anyway here is the article...

Spring is finally here!! For many of us, spring means the beginning of something new. Spring is the time we start the new project on the Porsche and spring is when we begin the new Porsche racing season. In my house, spring is both of those things, but also something more. Spring is the start of the baseball season. Despite knowing my Red Sox haven't won it all since 1918, this is the time of year when I begin to say, 'maybe this is the year'. I have said that every year and every year they keep me waiting.

I remember as a child in 1975, crying myself to sleep after a game 7 loss in the world series. The collapse of 1978 still makes me mad even today, and in 1986, we were 1 strike away from winning it all, but yet we lost. In 1988 I bought a bottle of wine when we made the playoffs, waiting to open it until when we had won the world series. After 4 quick games, the bottle went back into the cupboard. In 1990, the bottle came out again, only to remain unopened. In 1995, my future wife didn't understand why I dragged out a dusty bottle of wine when the Sox made the playoffs again. She and I watched the Sox lose to the Indians and I placed the bottle back on the shelf. My wife became a fan in 1999 and she watched us lose to the Yankees in the playoffs and the bottle remained unopened. By 2003, she was addicted, and when she told me we were going to have a son, she added, 'and he will be born right before the playoffs.'

By midseason, my wife could recite the batting order by memory and she knew every player by number. Our son Austin was born in August and in October, we had made the playoffs. That same dusty, old bottle of wine made its entrance and sat on top of the TV. We had it all planned out, I was to hold Austin in front of the TV and my wife was to take the picture when the Sox won it all. It would be proof when he got older that he saw it with his own eyes. All of us cheered throughout the playoffs until the 11th inning of game 7 when the Yankees hit a home run to beat us. At that very minute, he began to cry. I think it was because he knew we had just lost, but my wife thinks it was because I had scared him when I let out a muffled scream. My wife, still holding the camera, and with tears in her eyes, told me to turn off the TV, she didn't want to see the Yankees celebrating on the field. As I was securing the wine back in its resting place I realized I had just welcomed Austin into the world of being a Red Sox fan and another heartbreak.

When Christmas came, Santa brought Austin a Red Sox jersey. I couldn't wait to see him in it. I started to pull it over his head, but then I stopped. It hurt me to think it, but maybe I should keep him away from the Red Sox. When the season ends, I don't want him to shed a tear or lose sleep over a game like I have had to. I plan on protecting him and keeping him from harm, but I was going to allow the Red Sox to do to him what I wouldn't allow anyone else, I was going to allow them to break his heart. I pulled the jersey over his head and onto his shoulders and he smiled. I told him I was sorry. He didn't understand.

So for me, this spring, I will once again start a few new projects, but I would really like to finish one old one. This spring, everyone in my house will be rooting for the Red Sox and I will once again be hesitantly optimistic. I know that being a Red Sox fan costs too much, and the weight of the jersey is sometimes a lot to bear, but it will all be worth it if we could only see them win it once. My wife now realizes it has been 86 years since the last Red Sox championship, and a lot of other Red Sox fans never lived long enough to see them win it all. Every once in a while she jokes that I should probably add the bottle of wine to my will. This spring, I think I will do just that, while I continue to hope 'this is the year'.