The Curse of the Bambino, Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, The Sports Illustrated cover jinx, Curse this, Jinx that….lets face it Red Sox fans, we are just about as cursed and jinxed as could be imagined. In fact, I think that it is now safe to say that, as we stand on the doorstep of this new millennium, the Red Sox have finally reached the curse saturation point. There comes a time, and hey folks I know all about this stuff because I was recently a Philosophy minor at a Liberal Arts college, there comes a time when an individual, or in this case a major league baseball team, that they actually become curse proof.

Now, without getting too technical I will try to elaborate. I will use as my model the card game known as hearts. In this game, the goal is to not collect any of the heart cards, as these cards bring along bad points, and bad points are to be strictly avoided. However, there is an interesting strategy in this game that will bring to light the current situation of our favorite baseball team. This strategy is called shooting the moon. When a player shoots the moon, this means that they have collected every heart in the game, thus collecting every negative point. By collecting every negative point they win an obscene amount of positive points, and this is considered the most difficult and significant move a hearts player can make. The idea behind this is clearly that if you have the power to control all of the negative aspects of this game, then you have the ultimate power. This, my friends, is where the Red Sox are.

For an entire century the Red Sox masterfully collected every negative point they could. They traded Bagwell and sold Ruth. They let the ball go between their legs, or over the fence at the critical moment. They didn’t send out the contract in time, and so much more. And folks, they shot the moon. And now, at the beginning of the 21st century, they appear ready to cash in all of those lovely negative points for the grand prize.

Under normal circumstances I would be reluctant to talk so confidently about my Sox at this early point in the season, but what do I risk? I certainly could not jinx them, that’s for sure. So now it is time to open your head and your heart to our hometown team as you have never before. This is the year! And just in case you are not yet convinced, check out the date that the 4th game of the World Series is scheduled for. It's Pedro Martinez’s birthday. Case closed.

That being said, I would like to briefly introduce myself, as I will be sharing with you my Sox views this season, and you deserve to see my credentials. I was born and raised in Newton, and say what you will about the place, it sure cranks out the die-hard Sox fans. I was born in 76, and my father made sure to include me in each and every Sox moment that occurred from that moment on. I was on his lap for The playoff game in 1978. Although too young to really comprehend the misery, it nevertheless carved early and deep tunnels in my psyche to be filled by later moments of equal misery. My first memory of Fenway Park is of walking around a corner and suddenly being confronted by a blazing sun and a beautiful field, just as Yaz belted one of his last home runs out of our lyrical little bandbox. In 1986, as a 10 year old, I had my first ever party, inviting over everyone on my little league team to watch the 6th game of the World Series. I have missed very few opening days. I thought Jeff Stone was god (remember him?). I had an Oil Can Boyd poster on my dorm room wall for all four years in college. When asked what religion I am (and I do take this area quite seriously, as I was a religion Major in college) I respond that although my mother is Jewish, my father Presbyterian, and my family Unitarian, I am a Sox fan. That is my religion, and Fenway Park my temple. And oh yes, I plan to name my first child Fenway. So that is me, a little sick, yes. But it will all be worth it when I pop that cork and the tears start to flow because my beloved Sox have just shot the moon!

jnickel@virtual-ink.com