sox lose world series

Thoughts for Buffalo

Here is a thought for my family and friends in Buffalo that are shaking their heads in disbelief that the Bills have once again been knocked off.

I was once a desperately devoted Red Sox fan, starting in about 1971. I lived and died with them every season. The absolute worst was 1986 when, in the 6th game against the Mets, they had a 2 run lead, two outs, and two strikes in the 9th inning. One more pitch and the Red Sox curse ends after decades.

Of course, a series of nightmares occurred and the Sox lost that game, then lost game 7 on Sunday – as we all knew they would.

Monday morning I ran into a friend, a very wise fellow named Todd. I said “Can you believe what happened…” with my face on the floor.

Todd said something that made no sense to me. He said “It’s better this way. It deepens the experience.” I thought he was out of his mind, just denying the depth of sports fan nightmare we were mired in

Many years later the Sox did win the World Series, after going down 0-3 to the Yankees in a playoff series. I still kid people and tell them that no team has ever come back from 0-3, they must be mistaken. 

But the Sox did come back and and destroyed decades of Yankee arrogance by doing so.

But then the Sox went on to win the World Series three more times. And what Todd said to me finally registered.

Now that the Sox have defeated the curse… they are just another team. They win, they lose. Winning is better than losing, but it’s not life and death anymore.

The depth of experience of being a long-suffering Sox fan is gone.

So, Buffalonians: you are hurting because yet again the Bills have been kicked in the ass. But someday they WILL win it all, maybe a few years in a row. And then they will be… just another NFL team.

So appreciate the awful depth of experience you get to deal with now as fans of a cursed team of talented player. Once they win you will lose that.