I was at the game last night. Terry Francona said it best in his interview after the game: "They had their way with us in every way possible, and then this place came un-glued." It was surreal. The place was in a coma since BJ Upton hit his 2 run homer in the first inning (BTW - can somebody tell me how a guy with 9 HRs in 531 ABs during the regular season manages to have 6 in 9 playoff games?). I was mostly annoyed with the people around us during the game. The guys behind us were drunk and dropping F-bombs in every sentence. Not that my 15 year-old son has heard a few f-bombs from time to time, but it was a bit much. The fat lady next to me with the pink Red Sox earrings kept telling me what a great fan she was and how many big games she has seen. Two drunk college kids a couple rows in front of us kept getting on their chars to start "Let's go Red Sox" chants and get the crowd into it, but the response was lackluster. People started leaving in about the fifth inning, and when Upton hit a two run double off Papelbon in the seventh there was a steady stream of people leaving. The drunk kids started waving to the people leaving saying "you'll be sorry tomorrow." I think they are right. When Jed Lowrie scored on a Dustin Pedroia two out RBI single in the seventh. The bleachers finally got on their feet. When Papi followed with a three run homer right in front of us in the right field corner, we were on our feet to stay. Suddenly, people started joining in on the chants of the college kids. The drunk guys behind us started to seem funny. We were high fiving. The fat lady was still mainly annoying but she was easier to ignore. You started to think, could it be possible? When JD Drew cranked another 2-run homer near the same spot as Papi's, I kid you not, we were hugging each other. The love fest continued right through Coco's amazing 10 pitch at bat that culminated in a game tying base hit. In the ninth when the ball came off JD Drew's bat with two outs and Youkilis on second, it was again, coming right at us. Initially I was hoping it would fall in front of the right fielder, then I realized it was rising and thought, damn he's going to catch it, but when I saw Gabe Gross (Lowell River Rat) turn toward the wall and the ball continue to rise, I knew it was falling in and we would win. The place turned into a freaking mosh pit. Everyone was jumping and dancing to the tune of dirty water. I had no idea what was happening on the field. One of the drunk guys behind us jumped into our row and slurred, "I saw you guys go with the rally-caps in the seventh inning, that's what made the difference, don't think I didn't notice." The college kids became our best friends hugging and dancing with us. I got a picture of them on my phone with my son Mike. I think we might start trading Christmas Cards this year. Jacked with adrenaline, Mike and I went down to watch the post game interviews at the Red Sox dugout. With the other fans there we cheered Mike Lynch, Steve Burton and Lou Mer-Lon-i (clap,clap, clap-clap-clap). As we walked through Kenmore Square everyone was high fiving everyone else. Hungry from our adventure, we stopped inhale pizza at Little-Steve's (something I truly regret this morning). Mike fell asleep before we got to 95, and I was fighting to keep my eyes open as we approached 495. We pulled into the driveway at 2AM. This game rivals Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees in 2004 (which I also attended) for excitement level. Maybe even better given the magnitude of the comeback. Maybe we can get the same result in the series? Just maybe, if the real Josh Beckett shows up? Steve
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