Red Sox Love Has Driven Me Insane

Still breathing.

That's the thought that flashed through my mind as I lay on the hardwood floor, moments after collapsing in a heap in front of the TV screen and moments before regaining my full cognitive functions.

I'm still breathing. This game didn't kill me.

It was tense as the Red Sox closed in on the Tampa Bay Rays, and was it ever fun. As the improbable turned into the impossible and then into the ridiculous, as J.D. Drew's ninth-inning liner screamed through the enchanted Fenway air, as 7-0 improbably, impossibly, 

ridiculously, turned into 8-7...it was fun.

The second thought that occurred to me, after I confirmed that I was still alive, was that my team was still breathing as well. I had seen it shocked back to life by a series of question marks--Dustin Pedroia and his postseason slump, J.D. Drew and his ailing back, David Ortiz and his bum wrist, Justin Masterson and his rookie jitters. If all those roadblocks to postseason success could be forgotten in two-and-a-third innings, then why shouldn't Josh Beckett return to form against James Shields in Saturday's Game 6, and why shouldn't Jon Lester bounce back if there should be a Game 7? This is Boston. Why not?

Momentum, of course, is a tricky thing, and, thinking realistically, there are plenty of reasons why the rest of the series may not go as unbelievably well. But no matter what happens on Saturday night, Thursday's miracle had irreversible consequences. It reignited the passion and hunger of Red Sox fans, who, like Patriots fans before them, had become bloated and complacent with too much mundane success. Thanks to Thursday's insanity, Red Sox fans care again, as much as they did in 2004, and that's no small feat, considering Pats fans never cared again as much as they did in 2001.

In some ways, victory in baseball is just a synonym for delaying the inevitable. Even if the Red Sox are as successful as it is possible to be, even if they never lose again, their season will still end at some point. But that's why the effects of Thursday's win were so important. I had taken October baseball for granted, but after staring death in the face, I'm just happy to have the chance to see one more game, to watch my team taste the postseason at least one more time. After Thursday, I appreciate what I've got. And if James Shields thinks he can take that away from me, well, I'd love to see him try.