All Bets Are Off!

It's Halloween week. Last night, there was a total lunar eclipse. But despite talk of Bambino Curses, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series—first time since 1918.

Wake me up from this nightmare! As a Yankee fan, I never thought I'd see the day when the Sawx would be celebrating in Yankee Stadium to win an American League pennant. Nor did I believe that a mighty St. Louis Cardinals team, after 105 wins on the regular season, after a dramatic 7-game victory over the Astros for the National League pennant, would drop four straight and be swept by the Bosox. In the 100th World Series no less, as old as the New York City subways!

What's next, the Chicago Cubs win a Series?

What's next, a John Forbes Kerry victory?

Don't laugh. Now that the Sox won, all bets are off for Election 2004.

Indeed, a reader wrote to me to remind me of this previous L&P post, Of Sox and Socks. I had written:"Kerry said that he hopes a new White House administration will host the World Champion Red Sox, who last won a World Series in 1918. ... Please note: The fact that New York is hosting that other convention does not mean that the Yanks, like the GOP, are headed for an autumnal victory. But if I were a betting man... I'd say they have better chances than either Kerry or the Sox..."

Oh my. If ever there were an omen of a Kerry victory, this is it. Now that I've eaten crow over my tentative July 2004 guess at the Red Sox chances in October, what will it mean for my earlier prediction in May 2004 of a Bush victory?

Clearly, Kerry understands. Chester Nez, the same World War II Navajo Code Talker who blessed the Red Sox at Fenway Park in April to lift the Curse of the Bambino, blessed the Kerry campaign the other day. A favorite son obviously grasps the need for prayer in this election.

Boston fans may have finally vanquished the Bs: Babe Ruth, Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone, and Busch Stadium. Can that other Bush be far behind?

One thing is clear: the Boston fans may have finally triumphed over their inferiority complex. One of my closest friends, a life-long Bostonian, has been on a high since the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. The Pats even beat my Jets last weekend, winning their 21st consecutive NFL game. Now with the Sox reigning supreme, and New York getting kicked in the proverbial jock cup in football and baseball, one would think that Bostonians would still be chanting"Yankees Suck" in their all-night revelry. Alas, my friend tells me he didn't hear a single Boston fan utter that famous Beantown phrase.

Perhaps they are just savoring their well-deserved win after such exemplary play. Perhaps they will be like the New York Rangers, who waited 54 years for a Stanley Cup, and who haven't been heard from since 1994. Maybe every 86 years, these Sox get to be aired out. Or maybe we're entering a new epoch altogether, one that will be reflected even on Election Day, where the divisiveness will give way to peace, tranquility, and harmony.

Fat chance. We may no longer be able to chant"19-18" in Yankee Stadium but bring on the 2005 Baseball season! Go Yanks! And to our presidential contenders: A Pox on Both Your Houses!

(Oh, and, uh, Props to the Sox... congratulations ... arrrrrrrrrghhhh ... grumble ... )

Update: The mystique of this"Cursed to First" Bosox win has the numerologists going crazy today. The last Cardinal to bat was Edgar Renteria, #3, which just happened to be Babe Ruth's uniform number. The two Red Sox players who embraced in the outfield were Gabe Kapler (#19) and Johnny Damon (#18): 19-18. The last Red Sox team to win in 1918, had 86 victories... and it's been 86 years since the last World Series win. Alas, that irony has not eluded the New York Daily News, whose back page sports headline reads:"SOX SWEEP CARDS AS CURSE TAKES YEAR OFF: SEE YOU IN 2090." Cruel.

Check out Not a Blog.