As I'm sitting here in an infinitely boring business meeting in Beverly, Mass., I come across this Sports Guy:
Bill Simmons: Manny Ramirez's positive drug test makes the Sports Guy confront his worst nightmare - ESPN
Quote:
Confronting my worst nightmare
Dateline: May 7, 2014
My son and I have flown from California to spend the week in Boston. He is a little more than 6? at this point. He has never set foot in Fenway Park. The time is right. He likes baseball. He likes the Red Sox. He's a little sports encyclopedia. I have brainwashed him. He is just old enough to understand the significance of his first Fenway game and, more importantly, old enough that he'll be able to remember the experience decades later.
We bring my father with us. Three generations of the Simmons family taking in a Yankees-Red Sox game for the first time. This should be a wonderful moment. A signature moment, even.
We find our $1,500 seats in the lower boxes near third base. We are sitting in Best Buy's Section 61, which is right between Bob's Discount Furniture's Section 60 and Costco's Section 62. Every section has a sponsor now. The Green Monster is now called "The Pepsi Green Monster" and has a big Pepsi can painted on it. Ted Williams' special seat in right field is now sponsored by Muscle Milk. Even home plate is sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts. Has the logo on it and everything. That's just the way sports work now.
We settle into our seats. I point toward the championship banners over the first-base side. They go in order: 1903, 1904, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, 2007. Ever since Boston won the World Series 10 years ago, I always imagined pointing to that 2004 banner and telling my little boy,
"That's the team that changed everything."
So that's what I do. I point at the banner and tell him, "That's the team that changed everything."
"Isn't that the team that cheated?" he asks...
|
Yes, it makes me happy that Boston fans have to grapple with the fact that the curse may have ended with roids. Yes, I'm salty and jealous. Yes, my anger toward Boston - which is usually at a constant simmer - is at a boil now because I'm stuck in this [censored]ty meeting. Yes, I am looking ahead to my weekend in NYC and can't wait to get the hell out of here.
Yes, I am posting on BP sitting right next to my boss. Who wants some, bitches?