There are many different kind of memories that we all accumulate throughout life. There are memories of our family members who have helped guide us through life. There are memories of friends who have helped to make the journey of life more enjoyable. There are memories of love and romance that supply us with the spice that makes life so interesting. To me there are a group of memories that have combined all of these different relationships together into one and that is my many memories involving the Boston Red Sox.Autographed MLB photos
Many people would probably laugh at my assertion that any memory surrounding a game could be significant enough to mark a life significantly. I don’t argue the point that in and of itself, the happenings of a sports team don’t dominate my history. However when you add the relationships of my life that are tied around the events of this team, you can see why they are important and no other memory.
One of the great things about my family is that they are all Red Sox fans; all of my grandparents were fans and each of my siblings. That means that no matter how different we were in other areas, there was always this common bond that stretched across differences in age, economics and personal choice. I remember my first Red Sox game I went to was in 1977, my grandfather had procured tickets below face value from his company. Sharing that moment with him is one that lasts in my mind today, the bright vivid colors, the smells of great things to eat, the white of the uniforms all of it combined to leave a lasting impression. My grandfather taught me to keep score and my love for that team grew. One of the reasons that even cheap tickets online cost so much is that there are many people like me, who remember those who are now gone whenever they sit in a seat at Fenway Park. If I close my eyes I am taken back to 1977, learning how to keep score of a baseball game from my grandfather.
Like most people as my life has moved on, I have had different groups of friends, depending on where I worked or went to school and all of them made a mark on me. In all of those different groups, some of my most indelible memories revolve around the Red Sox. My first time away from home was when I was 18 and going to school in South Portland, Maine. My friends and I would take several Fenway sick days, when the weather was warm and the classes were not enticing. Sitting in my first apartment during college with about 50 other Sox fans in 1986, watching the Red Sox break our hearts again. I worked at a sports camp in the summer time, and having a group of friends who gathered to listen to the radio broadcast of the Sox, and playing gin rummy until late in the night. More recently, being a much older adult, being able to share the 2004 Red Sox World Series victory with so many of my good friends. It was really a near religious experience for me personally, which may seem trite to some but I can’t help the way that it affected me.
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Finally, when it comes to the relationships in my life, each was marked in some way by the Red Sox. I have dated women who were lukewarm about baseball and some who didn’t know the difference between football and baseball. All of the ones, who lasted though, came around and became fans to some degree or another. In 1986, I had to end a relationship when she just couldn’t understand why I was so heartbroken by Bill Buckner’s error. Likewise, in 2004 I was blessed with an understanding gal who knew that that night was the perfect time for us to decide to get married. We are extremely happy today, and go to several Red Sox games every year. We got married in the summer so that if the Sox were in town we could always go on our anniversary.
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There are many reasons why the Boston Red Sox elicit strong emotions from me personally. I don’t know if it is wrong or right to feel that way about a sports team. All I know is that I definitely do. Looking at all of the wonderful people who have made my life so great, I can’t believe that this is a bad thing.
What are some of the most important sports memories for you?
