Jitters, nerves, and superstitions, oh my!
September 30, 2008
We are minutes away from the changing of the guard, have you prepared your new month superstitions yet? I’m always one to think that an innocent rabbit, rabbit will cover all of my misdemeanor deeds for the month. Back in 2004, I had specific areas of my living room which I would assign seating during playoff games, and if anyone were to even consider sneezing during a Boston at-bat, it would be very hard to avoid my ire. You see, we all get a little more selective (and sensitive) in the month of October. Rituals, formalities, and superstitions take on a whole other meaning to the average fan; one should lightly tamper the subject. It’s just not about the hour pre-game show anymore; it’s about the 5 days of mental preparation that each and every fan endures before sitting down with their friends and family to watch the game. In this month, the weather is just a little bit colder than the day before, the days are most certainly getting shorter, and even more recently, the prognostications of doom are glowing Halos around Boston sports fans.
October 1st is usually the gateway frenzy to a sports world version of the Barnum & Bailey’s circus. Mid-October turns the flurry of fair-weather football fans into born-again disciples of Celtics and NCAA basketball. Hell, we all might fit that description if the Patriots continue to dwindle down the path of NFL single-season suicide. The Maryland Terrapins are suddenly starting to turn heads after convincing victories to Clemson and Cal, but I’ll save that one for a more appropriate day (BC-Maryland showdown in late November). So for all of us who aren’t reveling in the glory of their alma mater’s resurgent football team, we collectively turn our eyes to playoff baseball.
Chiseled in granite and slate stone—a part III of cross-country Baseball. Bring on the tacky and blatantly computerized sound bites and logo “fly-ins” – or just mute your TV while Jeanne Zelasko serenades the nation with her mundane, ESPN-regurgitated opinion. You’ll just wait and see, one member of the FOX broadcast media team will take it upon themselves to completely denounce Boston’s season juxtaposed to Anaheim and their 100-win victory lap that they ran around Major League Baseball. Zelasko will most likely slip up first, saying something idiotic along the lines of, “The Red Sox had an injury plagued season and were non-deserving of the AL East title, so the reigning champs had to downgrade to the Wild Card.” Digest [rather, embrace] the pro-Yankee “So Sad to See Them Go” propaganda that will inevitably rattle your insides because it hurts so good to see a post season without them.
Are you reveling in playoff exuberance yet? Or does this script make you as nauseous as I am. To compensate for all of the stress and ambiguity this October is going to bring me, I think I might just turn my clocks back an hour—tomorrow. An extra hour of sleep? We all need it. Turn your clocks so that you can save time for that extra hour and a half you waste perusing Projo.com for a Tony Mazz insider’s interview; the addictive nature is equivalent to Jose Canseco's syringe to his gluteus G-spot. It’s that second wind you get at 2:30 with your third cup of coffee and a fourth revision of the Sports Guy column on ESPN.com, which is perfect because you're anxiety will allow you to read the article five more times before the first pitch is even thrown.
One more hour to do...whatever you would like to do. It's not such a lofty proposition. Hey, the Red Sox get to turn their internal clocks back 3 hours before tomorrow night's contest, why can't we? In a perfect world, everyone in SawxNation would be ready to watch tonight's game in Anaheim, set in their positions about two hours before the game, clad in sweaty, unwashed Sox paraphernalia. No sneezing, no coughing - not an inch of movement. Just a bed pan, a thirty rack, and an inside-out-upside-down Red Sox rally cap.
has been a while since youve posted but theres definately no sign of rust, well done. unfortunately we dont have enough of the right stuff to be really supersticious out here but we are doing the best we can. hats are being glued to heads, shirts are going unwashed and beards a growing out. i will re-organise the gear back at home in time for the big show and hopefully everything lines up in the right order. ...View More...View Less
PHEW. NOTE TO SELF; Do not read anymore of Courtney's blogs until you've had at least one Pepsi and properly woken up. But anywys. Yeah tis the season for more FOX than any one human being should have to endure. But life is a series of trade-offs. The deeper you play into October, the more Tim McCarver et al you're gonna get exposed to. Yeah we all have to make certain sacrifices but I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the ride. Let's repeat in 08 just for good measure. Keep the Faith. Ps. great blog. ...View More...View Less
Great blog. I am not superstious at all but for some reason in October I try to do the samethings for ervery game. I hope it helps!!! Go Red Sox!!!
10/01/2008 8:23 AM
I have my superstitions all season long. Just like the Sox play each game as though it's a big game, I watch each game as thought it's a big game. You've got to test your superstitions during the season, you might find out it helps the team if someone sneeze's during an at-bat and you just gotta go with it.
10/01/2008 9:54 AM
