Fathers Day Thanks

On this Fathers Day, I would to give a special thanks to my Dad.  Growing up, all I ever heard about was the New YorK Yankees and how great they were and how fruitless it would be to root for any other team.  Like most people born in the 40's though I guess you can't blame him for being a Yankee's fan, they were the Bulls of that era going to 14 world series and winning nine during the 50's and early 60's.  The summer of 61, the M & M boys, the great Joe Dimaggio, Mr October Reggie Jackson,those were my Dr. Suess stories.  Growing up though in the late 70's and 80's though, before all the cable channels, baseball games were always a big deal, and were always playing on our floor model style zenith t.v., and of course it was usually the Yankee's.  Somewhere in the mid-80's, and not by design I discovered a team not named the Yankee's, called the Boston Red Sox.  The Sox had some good teams back then, and a great cast of players, Roger Clemens, Jim Rice, Dave Henderson, and my all time favorite Dwight Evans.  There was no real rivalry back then, either the Sox were good, or the Yankee's were good, but they were never good at the same time.

  The 90's came of course, and with that Dad, and all the other fans re-fell in love with the Yankees all over, funny how winning will do that to fans.  In the late 90's we got Pedro, and they got Clemens, and it seemed like things were starting to feel like the rivaleries of old.  It was amazing the confidence Pops had in his boys(not unlike all Yankee fans), and it seemed like the most suprising thing that had ever happened when the Yanks choked away game seven of the World Series, with the great Mariano Rivera pitching to close it out.  Of course 2003 happened, so close but so far, Dad of course had the ultimate jinx however, in the 8th inning he proclaimed it was over and the Sox would go on to the Series. That did not happen of course, another visit from the curse, and a visit to the mound to pull Pedro that didn't happen that sent us down the river that year.  The 2004 ALCS though will forever be the cherry topper between our two teams.  I can still remember the phone call I made after game four, when the plug was pulled and we still had some life, "come on it's over" sounds about right.  Then the game five marathon victory, of course that loss was design, so they could go back to New York to finish of the Sox as they always do in the house of pain called Yankee Stadium.  Something in game six, Dad lost a little of that Yankee swagger, and almost sounded worried, "if don't win tonight, it's over".  Words more true have never been spoken, because the next night was the New York massacare, the Sox ended all thier frustration and exorcised all the Bronx demons. That night I was deprived my phone call, the shame of his teams loss left me to leave my congrats on his answering machine.  On this Fathers Day, though I am grateful for my Dad's being such an avid Yankee fan, for without that who knows.  My only question is, will the cat be in the cradle with my own son, for he has had to endure 13 years of Red Sox lure, only time will tell.  Happy Fathers Day!