Good list. Mine's a bit different. I don't recall 75 at all (I was six years old.) I do remember Yaz popping out to Nettles but I don't have an emotional memory of that....I just watched the games back then..
1) 86 - I mean, really. C'mon. 2) 03 - That was the first year I really believed we could win the WS. New ownership. Pedro. But.... 3) 11 - This may just be because it's fresh, but I think it's almost worst to not make the playoffs then to lose in the playoffs. And the way they didn't make the playoffs was epic. 4) 99 - Tim Tschida game - I just knew that fate - and MLB - wouldn't let the Yankees lose 5) 04 - Oct. 16, 2004. Even though it worked out in the end, I've never been so upset in all my life. On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Steve Gendron <[email protected]> wrote: > After the bizarre night when the Red Sox completed the collapse of ’11, > Ray said that he had never seen anything like this in 35 years of watching > baseball. I agree, it was a surreal experience with both games that would > have continued our season going to 2 outs, 2 strikes in the ninth before > they crumbled, along with our playoff hopes. It was a tough night for sure. > I smashed a nearly new bag of Tostitos into submission (the scoop kind > that hold the salsa), got a restless night of sleep, and endured some > razzing from my Yankee fan associates yesterday. But a day removed from > that mess, I have pretty much left it behind. **** > > ** ** > > Conversely, the collapses of 78 and 86 are permanent scars on my soul. > This is not even close. I think the difference is that none of us > realistically thought that this team had a snowball’s chance of winning a > WS. Sure we all wanted the season to continue, but we knew it would be a > short lived playoff season.**** > > ** ** > > In fact, I’d say there are a number of Red Sox experiences that I can think > of that would rate much higher than this one on the pain meter. Here’s my > top 5 ranked list:**** > > ** ** > > **1) **86 World Series – A Red Sox fan nightmare that can just never > be topped.**** > > **2) **’03 Aaron Boone – I was holding a ticket to game one of the > World Series in my hand when this one went down. It was a WS series that I > really thought I could win. Plus this was the first Red Sox disappointment > that took my family down too. I put kids to bed that night crying their > eyes out. I was ready to turn myself over to DSS for making Red Sox fans > out of my children. (However, this made the redemption of ’04 all the > better). **** > > **3) **Game 7 in ’75 – I was only 13 for this one, but I will never > forget it. Not exactly a collapse since we lost to the Big Red Machine, but > after the Euphoria of Fisk’s HR in game 6, it was a huge letdown.**** > > **4) **’78 Bucky Dent – This was a true collapse. A team made up of > my baseball heroes that should have won the World Series. It was > heart-breaking to see that opportunity slip away – especially to the > Yankees.**** > > **5) **’08 ALCS game 7 – We tend to forget about this one, but I had > attended one of the biggest comebacks in Sox history in game 5 of the series > at Fenway. The Sox were facing elimination down 7-0 in the 7th and > rallied to win in the 9th. The Sox used that momentum to take game 6 and > tie the series in Tampa, but could not prevail in game 7. **** > > ** ** > > Probably a few more before I get to this year’s debacle…**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Ray > > *Sent:* Thursday, September 29, 2011 4:57 PM > *To:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* This is not 1986 or 1978 for that matter**** > > ** ** > > I was poking around boston.com's sports page for the first time this year > when I came across this Obnoxious Boston Fan guy:**** > > ** ** > > > http://www.boston.com/sports/blogs/obnoxiousbostonfan/2011/09/this_should_set_red_sox.html > **** > > ** ** > > Oh my God, this guy is ridiculous. He claims that this 2011 collapse has > taught a younger generation of fans what it was like to be a Sox fan.**** > > ** ** > > This collapse was horrifying and memorable, but it was *not* as bad as the > collapse in 1978, or was it as bad as 1986.**** > > ** ** > > In 1978 the Sox played in a league where you had to win the division to get > into the playoffs, and we *never* were able to beat the Yankees and win > the division. We would routinely have the second best record in the > American League and watch the playoffs from home. So when we had an > insurmountable 14 game lead at the All Star break, this was our chance to > finally break through. Then we blew the lead and were 2 or 3 games back > with a week or so to play, and then we *came back* from that to force a > playoff game that we lost with men in scoring position and Yaz hitting > (popped out to third, not that it preys on my mind).**** > > ** ** > > In 1986 the Sox had barely escaped Anaheim thanks to Hendu and were about > to steal the World-Freaking-Series from a team with 108 wins. 108 wins and > we were going to beat them. And then, of course, we know what happened. > The Red Sox hadn't seen the playoffs since 1975 and 1967 before that, and > every decade we played the decade's strongest NL team for the WS. **** > > ** ** > > *That* my friends was collapse. In those days we only made the playoffs > when historic and mystical forces combined to create a Black Swan event that > rocked our world. **** > > ** ** > > This year? Yeah it was bad and frustrating given that we had this all-star > lineup. But, really, do we have any doubt that we'll be right back in the > thick of it next year? Was this year a fluke that we somehow let slip > through our fingers. There was a time when the Red Sox were Tampa Bay and > we got in only by the skin of our teeth after God Himself reached down > and anointed us.**** > > ** ** > > So it seems to me that the obnoxious Boston Fan is being a little > self-serving to suggest that he has suffered through anything like real > angst.**** > > ** ** > > It would take at least 20-years of futility for us to feel that way again. > **** > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Red Sox Citizens" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/redsoxcitizens/-/RQojWzLPliAJ. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en.**** > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Red Sox Citizens" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. 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