As a Jet fan, I know what it is like to root for a perennial loser. I never get excited ... ever! The New York Jets are 4-0, and I still don't think they're good. I still don't think they will make the playoffs, and even if they do, I think they'll lose.
That is what years and years of having your heartbroken by the same team time after time will do to your confidence. The players are different, the coaches are different, but the outcomes remain the same. It must be something about that green and white.
The Red Sox fans, on the other hand, are a different breed. They've seen it all. The great regular season collapse, capped off by Bucky Dent. The great league championship meltdown, capped off by Aaron Boone. And the great World Series collapse, capped off by Bill Buckner.
Since Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to finance his stupid play, the Red Sox have gone 85 years without a World Series trophy. They've been there four times, losing in a Game 7 every single time.
Yet Red Sox fans share a common belief, that this is their year, expressed by the Boston Herald headline, published before the Red Sox disposed of the Anaheim Angels, which read "Go Yankees. We want to kick your butts on the way to the Series."
Of course, last year was supposed to be their year. Except their idiot manager blew the series by leaving in staff ace Pedro Martinez too long.
To rectify that, GM Theo Epstein got the treasure all baseball teams covet, a legitimate ace: Curt Schilling. And Schilling knows something about slaying Yankees (2001 World Series Co-MVP).
The Yankees countered, grabbing Alex Rodriguez, but let's be real. Whom would you rather have right now, Shill or A-Rod?
The Sox have the tougher lineup. Sure, the Yanks have Gary Sheffield and all the usual suspects, but the Sox are deeper, and work the pitcher better.
Maybe the Sox bullpen leaves some room for improvement, but hey, not every facet of the team can be infallible.
So with the pitching and hitting, how can the Sox lose? Even Las Vegas has them as the favorite over the Yankees! This has to be the year, right?
All I can say is, stay tuned. Despite the Red Sox' seemingly invincible prowess, the Yankees are no slouch, no matter how much their fans whine about the pitching.
True, Mike Mussina and Jon Lieber are not Schilling and Pedro. But Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez match up just fine with Bronson Arroyo and Tim Wakefield.
And while the Yankees lineup doesn't come close to matching the facial hair in Boston's, the hitting isn't terrible. Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, etc. occupy the batting order. They've been here before, and they know what it takes to move on.
The Sox fans don't want to hear any of this. They want to beat the snot out of the Bronx Bombers, maintaining this series will make up for nearly a century of futility.
And it's the same attitude that was so evident last season, when Boston's confidence was bristling with Pedro on the hill in Game 7. Might we see another decisive game with another unlikely Sox killer? I wouldn't bet against it.
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