13 years ago today...

glasspusher

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“11:59PM on the 17th of October, and it’s do or die for the Red Sox, if they want to extend the season they have to score here…” - Joe Castiglione

Edit: went back to listen, he did not say "Sunday"
 
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Rasputin

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If we can just win this game, we can get to game 7 and anything can happen.
 

E5 Yaz

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I'm hoping there's a thread tomorrow, so we can find out what they did on the 18th
 

Dan Murfman

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I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
It happens to the best of us, man.

The night before, I was so sure that they were going to win that when they lost 19-8, I pretty much renounced my Red Sox fandom and went into a day-long depression (BTW, I was an adult at the time). I was supposed to go to a Patriots game that day (free tickets), I cancelled. Public Enemy and Living Colour were playing a double bill that night at House of Blues (or whatever it was called back then) and those were my two absolute favorite groups in high school and I was planning on catching the show after the Pats game while getting into the Sox groove at the same time. I didn't go. I didn't want to be anywhere near Fenway Park.

I didn't even watch the beginning of the Sox game, I started watching a movie with my girlfriend (my wife now) and when he DVD player wouldn't work, we both decided to go to bed. She fell asleep right away and I turned the game on to see how the Sox were going to lose this one. I was so fucking bitter.

Next thing you know, Millar walks, Roberts steals seconds, Mueller Charlie Browns Mariano and I'm back on the bandwagon.
 

glasspusher

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I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
I was at my mother in law's wake, back in NJ, surrounded by the missus' Yankee loving family. I watched the night before, but when I got back from the wake, I was fried and just went to sleep. My sister told me the news at the funeral the next morning.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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Roberts gets thrown out. 1 out. Muller singles. Mientkiewicz still pinch hits for Bellhorn. Groundout. Mueller to 2nd. 2 outs. Damon up. Need a big 2 out hit to score Mueller.
 

Van Everyman

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I mean, he was safe by like a foot.
I'd say more like four inches.

I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
Does this mean this is the fourteenth anniversary of that Boone "Oh me oh my did I just do that?" abomination? Fuck that shit.

Wake forever.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
Thank you for your sacrifice. Imagine if you had watched? It would have been all your fault.
 

trotsplits

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During game 3, I went to a halloween party for the kids and sat in the corner, drinking myself into a stupor while the Yankees rampaged. I vowed not to watch game 4.

On Sunday morning, I was end-of-the-season-depressed but functional. My wife and kids took a shopping road trip and vacated the house by afternoon. I watched some football and a couple movies. Eventually, I felt almost Zen about watching the last game of the season.

I wanted Tito to send Roberts w/o bunting. Everyone knew he was going. Then he did. And he was safe. Of course at least 30 things had to happen later in the game and series (plural) to make this appear like hindsight, but I haven't felt the same way about sports since the moment Roberts slid head-first into 2B.
 

tims4wins

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I remember being in bed, ready to go to sleep, but having the game on the bedroom TV. When Roberts stole the bag a good buddy texted “ALIVE”. The next day was a 5pm start, and I was working in Houston at the time. Had to follow the first couple innings online before heading out at 5. I don’t think I cracked a beer until the 7th, and of course still ended up hammered by the time it ended. Just classic stuff. To this day I reflect back and just can’t believe how much it mattered. It was life and death.
 

Unin10D

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Roberts gets thrown out. 1 out. Muller singles.
I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but I still believe that Rivera through a middle-middle pitch expecting Mueller to bunt (he'd showed bunt the previous pitch). Rivera was one of the better fielding pitchers and was banking on gunning Roberts out at third a la 2001 WS.

Maybe it's BS, but Rivera didn't throw that many pitches that stayed that flat. I still think he was expecting a hard bunt right back to him and then a quick gun to third for the first out. With Roberts out, he'dve attacked Mueller, who'd showed that he could hit Rivera so who knows
 

snowmanny

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To this day I reflect back and just can’t believe how much it mattered. It was life and death.
Well put. It was insane how important it all was (and how important that week still is to me). That day I wasn't thinking about winning four games. I just wanted them to win that day so I could feel great that day and not be a miserable grouch to everyone I came in contact with that day. The most Red Sox-y thing ever would have been for them to pinch run their specially obtained supposed speed guy in the ninth against the Yankees and either have him picked off first, called out at second even though he was safe, or steal second and head to third on a bad throw and then trip and get tagged out; the least Red Sox-y thing would have been to trade for a supposed base runner and have him actually successfully steal the base.
 

glasspusher

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"Nothing good has come of this. Nothing. We all wanted the Yankees. What, dare I say it, idiots we all were."

-end of Bob Ryan's column in the Oct 17 2004 Boston Globe
 

hoothehoo

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I got a free ticket to that game because the person who had it didn't want to watch them get swept.

One amazing night. And morning.
 

santadevil

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Roberts gets thrown out. 1 out. Muller singles. Mientkiewicz still pinch hits for Bellhorn. Groundout. Mueller to 2nd. 2 outs. Damon up. Need a big 2 out hit to score Mueller.
My memory says Damon was like 0 for the series at that point. That wouldn't have been good.

I'm on my phone, so someone confirm my memory please
 

trekfan55

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Joe Buck: "Roberts with a huge lead at first..."
(pause)
Al Leiter: "He's goin'."
Joe Buck: "He certainly has a lead big enough to go..."
Leiter was there?

I do remember watching a FOX rebroadcast of Game 5 and McCarver said that all that was missing was the starters' blocks for Roberts at 1st.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
I was a big baby. Boone hit his HR on the 17th the year before. So I couldn’t take them losing to them on my birthday 2 Year’s in a row so I didn’t watch and didn’t find out they won until I woke up in the morning.
Been there, did that. The funny part is that I hadn't really given up. I remember saying to my wife that Sunday, "hey, anything could happen," and really meaning it. But I just couldn't bring myself to watch the other thing happen, so I didn't watch.

That was the last Sox postseason game I voluntarily skipped for a very long time, though.
 

glasspusher

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Leiter was there?

I do remember watching a FOX rebroadcast of Game 5 and McCarver said that all that was missing was the starters' blocks for Roberts at 1st.
Yep, he was doing color commentary. McCarver wasn't in the booth in the 9th- they say he was in the visiting clubhouse awaiting the Yankee win.
 

santadevil

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My memory says Damon was like 0 for the series at that point. That wouldn't have been good.

I'm on my phone, so someone confirm my memory please
Confirming myself.

Damon was batting leadoff for the first 4 games

Game 1, 0-4, 4 K's, 0 BB
Game 2, 0-4, 1 K, 0 BB
Game 3, 1-5, 0 K's, 0 BB (and an RBI)
Game 4, 0-5, 0 K's, 1 BB Went 0 for the first 5. Reached on a fielders choice and scored in the 5th. Reached on an error in the 9th, but that was after the tie. Walked in the 11th, stole 2nd, but nothing came of that

So, he was terrible up to that point.
Game 5, 1-6
Game 6, 1-5
Game 7, 3-6, 6 RBI (2HR's, including that Grand Slam in the 2nd)

Either way, Johnny Damon was not an ideal choice to take a chance with a runner on 2nd and the entire season on the line
 

Yo La Tengo

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I'm still convinced that if Jeter had caught the ball properly (at the bag rather than reaching for it) Roberts would have been out.

upload_2017-10-17_22-5-45.jpeg
 

canyoubelieveit

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No experts have ever been so wrong as the psychologists who predicted that Red Sox fans would have some kind of adverse reaction to winning it all, such as a feeling or emptiness or loss of identity or apathy towards future sporting events. Not a day goes by, either consciously or subconsciously, where I'm not a happier, more fulfilled, more grateful person because of that glorious comeback against the Yankees and eventual World Series win. I still can't believe it happened. 2004 is a potent remedy for any sports-related frustrations I've ever had since that time or ever will have again, and a pretty good remedy for a lot of non-sports related frustrations too.

I'll always have a happy Pavlovian response whenever I see the number "2004." It doesn't even matter what the context is...someone could be referring to some tragic radish famine of 2004 and I'll think, "yeah, 2004 baby!".

It is a gift that never, ever stops giving.
 

TomBrunansky23

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At my girlfriend's (now wife) place in Buffalo (I lived in Rochester)...told her I had to watch it to the end because I'd watched all year. She went to bed and woke up when I came in after 1 am. I told her they won and said dammit now they are going to make me watch again tomorrow. Drove back early to get into work dog tired from the night before. Only after game 5 did I start to believe there was a chance...

The rest of that week, well...like all of us I will talk about it on my deathbed.
 

canyoubelieveit

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It was a hell of a throw by Posada. The kind of play I watch time and time again and think he might be called out sometime.
I'm sure a lot of you have seen Dave Robert's amusing video clip talking about this, where he says that every time he sees the play it seems to get closer and closer and he's afraid to keep watching because one of these times he's going to be out.
 

LynnRice75

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I couldn't stand to watch them lose so I shut off the tv and tuned into the MLB app audio to hear the end of the season.

I heard the walk and steal and single. I couldn't break the luck so I listened till the end.

The rest of the ALCS and World Series, I followed the same ritual. I shut off the tv in the ninth and just listened. (Course I dvr'd the game to go back and watch afterward. )

I missed watching things live but wasn't going to mess with what was working.
 

glasspusher

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I couldn't stand to watch them lose so I shut off the tv and tuned into the MLB app audio to hear the end of the season.

I heard the walk and steal and single. I couldn't break the luck so I listened till the end.

The rest of the ALCS and World Series, I followed the same ritual. I shut off the tv in the ninth and just listened. (Course I dvr'd the game to go back and watch afterward. )

I missed watching things live but wasn't going to mess with what was working.
The only game of the first 4 of the ALCS that they won was game 4. I resolved not to watch the rest of the series. It wasn't easy, especially in NJ. Our efforts paid off.
 

OurF'ingCity

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I couldn't stand to watch them lose so I shut off the tv and tuned into the MLB app audio to hear the end of the season.

I heard the walk and steal and single. I couldn't break the luck so I listened till the end.

The rest of the ALCS and World Series, I followed the same ritual. I shut off the tv in the ninth and just listened. (Course I dvr'd the game to go back and watch afterward. )

I missed watching things live but wasn't going to mess with what was working.
This is pretty close to what I did, too. Listened to the 9th in bed with my face buried in my pillow expecting to hear the end of the season - once it wasn't, I obviously couldn't break the streak so I listened to the remainder of the series on the radio, laying in my bed (ok, I admit I cheated and turned on the TV in the 9th of Game 7, but it was 10-3 so felt pretty good about that one).
 

Rasputin

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I still can’t believe he walked Millar.
He walked the first batter in the 9th in Game 7 against the Diamondbacks didn't he? I always had the feeling that he was untouchable 98% of the time, but if he walked the first guy, everyone's batting average went up about 50 points. Still not easy, but much more doable.

[ETA Nope, Mark Grace singled.]

To this day I reflect back and just can’t believe how much it mattered. It was life and death.
I think suggesting that week changed all our lives is a significant understatement. I mean, as annoying as it is for people to lump us in with the Yankees, and as annoying as the entitled Red Sox fans are, I'll take it over the loserdom every damn day.

My memory says Damon was like 0 for the series at that point. That wouldn't have been good.

I'm on my phone, so someone confirm my memory please
He had six hits in the series and three of them came in Game 7 so yeah.

No experts have ever been so wrong as the psychologists who predicted that Red Sox fans would have some kind of adverse reaction to winning it all, such as a feeling or emptiness or loss of identity or apathy towards future sporting events. Not a day goes by, either consciously or subconsciously, where I'm not a happier, more fulfilled, more grateful person because of that glorious comeback against the Yankees and eventual World Series win. I still can't believe it happened. 2004 is a potent remedy for any sports-related frustrations I've ever had since that time or ever will have again, and a pretty good remedy for a lot of non-sports related frustrations too.
I suspect I'm not the only one that had this conversation several times.

Me: Giggles
My wife: What?
Me: We won the World Series
My wife: Oh God

I'll always have a happy Pavlovian response whenever I see the number "2004." It doesn't even matter what the context is...someone could be referring to some tragic radish famine of 2004 and I'll think, "yeah, 2004 baby!".

It is a gift that never, ever stops giving.
Also, the sound of a ball hitting the foul pole.

I will always remember the pitching change in the 9th inning of Game 7. It extended the game just long enough to end on my anniversary.
 

bob burda

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It was a hell of a throw by Posada. The kind of play I watch time and time again and think he might be called out sometime.
I'm still convinced that if Jeter had caught the ball properly (at the bag rather than reaching for it) Roberts would have been out.
It was a laser, but it was also to the wrong side of the bag, and Jeter's only play was to go out and get the ball and whisk his arm back over to the other side and make the tag. It's actually a helluva play by Jeter, but Roberts is just too fast.

A foot? 4 inches? OK - if you really want chills go watch the Mueller hit up the middle in slow motion as Mo gets "Charlie Browned" (JMOH - that's really good, love that), but watch how close Mo comes to catching that ball. It's maybe not as close as Torrey Hunter came to catching the Ortiz slam in '13, but it is VERY close.
 

soxtalon

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At the start of Game 3, I was returning on a bus from some trip...I want to say a college football game - maybe Army-Navy? Anyways...I was listening to the radio as well as I could and remember being pissed that the Yanks scored in the first...then as we were arriving back to our cars the Sox had tied it up so I was excited to get home to watch it. I arrived home at the top of the fourth and just watched dumbfounded as they went on to demolish us. I wasn't even angry. I honestly felt just deer in the headlights shock. Like the funny gif of the Yankee fan from Game 7. I had been here before and been mad...this time I was just catatonic.

I don't even remember moving from the couch. I watched Game 4 in the same spot. I sparked some interest when they took an early lead, but it died down as I seemingly just watched the season unravel slowly...I just kept thinking how this year had seemed so different. After last year, this was the team - they were better than 03 in every way and it just had a different feel to it. How could it be we were going to let these fucking Yankees do it again.

Millar walked to start the ninth and I felt a bit of excitement. I was talking myself down. Even if they win they still can't win the series...but that part of me just wanted desperately not to get swept.

When Roberts ran, I dug into the couch with my fingers until they were white. When Mueller got the base hit, I leapt off the couch and let this cathartic scream out. It just meant that much. When they didn't score again it kind of muted it a bit, til Ortiz took it home and I almost cried from exhaustion at that point.

Funny thing was - I'd like to say I was convinced then...but it pretty much happened the same way for Game 5. When Pedro lost the lead, I went into another deep funk (and put a hole in my fence - I didn't want my kids to see my senseless anger.) When they tied it in the 8th I felt a little dejavu...and again another cathartic scream though not as big followed with the walkoff single.

But the moment, I thought the page had finally turned (and honestly SHAME on me given the Sox's history) was when the call went against A-Rod in game 6. It was at that moment, it seemed like the world had realigned and there was no way we were losing game 7 at that point. My wife knew better and made sure she had plans for game 7 :p And I watched game 7 from the floor..and just didn't move and didn't cheer ...i let quick little "yeah" out during Ortiz and Damon's 2 homeruns. But that was it - until the end when I just cried happy man tears.....

I love reminiscing about that time. It did mean so so so much. Since that time I'm just as committed to the Sox but when they lose it's just a tad less upsetting...
 

bosockboy

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Re: life and death, the end of Game 6–I’m convinced I’ll never have that feeling again. The Foulke on fumes to Clark sequence was sheer terror.
 

Tris Williamsburg

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I got a free ticket to that game because the person who had it didn't want to watch them get swept.

One amazing night. And morning.
SoxZen and I also got tickets behind the Pesky pole because his Pastor couldn't bear to watch them get swept. (Talk about losing your religion!) Thank goodness we talked each other into going to the game.
 

trekfan55

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Re: life and death, the end of Game 6–I’m convinced I’ll never have that feeling again. The Foulke on fumes to Clark sequence was sheer terror.
I was the scariest AB I have ever witnessed. Game 4 it was: "Ok, we get one more". Game 5 was "Maybe there is a chance". Game 6, 9th inning, two men on base, Foulke having nothing, Tony Clark batting, short porch beckoming it was "I can't accept that we came this far and may lose it on this AB" That K was one of the most exciting moments in my life. Woke up my entire house.
 

Al Zarilla

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This is pretty close to what I did, too. Listened to the 9th in bed with my face buried in my pillow expecting to hear the end of the season - once it wasn't, I obviously couldn't break the streak so I listened to the remainder of the series on the radio, laying in my bed (ok, I admit I cheated and turned on the TV in the 9th of Game 7, but it was 10-3 so felt pretty good about that one).
Pictures or it didn’t happen. You eschewed TV even when Schilling had it going great in game 6, or Lowe in game 7?
 

Cumberland Blues

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To this day I reflect back and just can’t believe how much it mattered. It was life and death.
Yeah, this. I simultaneously feel like I'd give anything to get that feeling back, and that there's nothing you could give me to make me want it back. I still love the team and the game and I still ride the emotional roller coaster of the season - but damn - that coaster don't go near as high (or low) as it used to.
 

Montana Fan

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Yeah, this. I simultaneously feel like I'd give anything to get that feeling back, and that there's nothing you could give me to make me want it back. I still love the team and the game and I still ride the emotional roller coaster of the season - but damn - that coaster don't go near as high (or low) as it used to.
You're not even cursing Bucky any more...right?
 

tims4wins

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Yeah, this. I simultaneously feel like I'd give anything to get that feeling back, and that there's nothing you could give me to make me want it back. I still love the team and the game and I still ride the emotional roller coaster of the season - but damn - that coaster don't go near as high (or low) as it used to.
Well put
 

drbretto

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No other fan of any other team will ever know that bliss. It wasn't just that we finally won. You couldn't have written this script. It was poetic. It fermented for 86 years, and not Cubs years where everyone is like just happy they saw a baseball game. We we're teased and bullied for 86 years, and we knocked that bully right on its ass in front of the whole school.

And it wasn't luck. Everyone. Every single player, coach, I'm sure every front office employee down to the janitorial staff, everyone came together and said I'm not gonna be the guy that let's this get away. And they got every bit if everything they had. Almost everyone was tested, and everyone came through. That was the best Hollywood happy ending to a sports movie I've ever seen and it happened to us, in real life, when we needed it the most.

It will never be topped.
 

snowmanny

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Re: life and death, the end of Game 6–I’m convinced I’ll never have that feeling again. The Foulke on fumes to Clark sequence was sheer terror.
I was completely distraught and pacing and ended up two rooms away from the TV and finally watched the end of that at bat in a mirror. because I couldn't bear to look directly at what was about to happen.

The next day I said to someone that I felt like I had a lottery ticket and had hit the first five numbers and was just waiting on the last one.

It's so good I can't even say for sure that I'd change any of the awful season-ending heartbreaks that preceded it because that would diminish the precious.