Everybody Please Calm Down

(file this under "Commentary")

Can Red Sox fans please calm down about the fact that the team is now in second place? The season is not over, there are still 10 games left, including three against the first place Yankees. Let's let it play out instead of jumping out the nearest window. The Yankees are hot right now, but that might not last. Besides, it's possible that the White Sox' fade will continue and the Red Sox will win the wild card regardless.

Last fall when Boston won it's first world series in 86 years, I read in the papers and heard on the radio all kinds of quotes from Red Sox fans: "Everything is different now," "All is forgiven," "I can die in peace." Where are all of these people now? On talk radio, everybody is writing off the season, criticizing Theo and wanting to fire Francona. Where's the goodwill gained by the team winning the World Series? Shouldn't the the Honeymoon last at least a year? Instead of, "Hey, they're our Red Sox, they won last year and we love 'em," I'm hearing a lot of hate and anger.

When the Red Sox won the series last year, nothing changed for me. Well, almost nothing. I was truly happy that I finally got to see them win a championship, but I also realized that I had been spending a lot of time getting emotionally involved in a team that really has no bearing on my life. (Actually, I realized this when the Sox were dragging my sleep-deprived body through two extra-inning roller coaster rides in games 4 and 5 vs. the Yankees.) I'm much happier now that I've had this catharsis. Obviously I still love baseball, and I root for the Sox and it saddens me when they lose. But I don't take it personally, and I don't get angry. Our boys are trying their best to beat the Yankees (side note - I do take it personally and get angry when the Yankees win. I'm comfortable with that double standard), and I believe that we should be rooting for them and giving them our support. Getting pissed of and criticizing the entire organization seems petty and ungrateful, and I wish Red Sox fans would stop doing it.