Trying to understand what it’s like to be a Red Sox fan

I had the luxury this year of watching the Red Sox-Yankees series a little differently than I… I had the luxury this year of watching the Red Sox-Yankees series a little differently than I did in years past.

I watched it with a die-hard Red Sox fan.

My neighbor, in apartment two, is from Boston — the dark-blue, Red Sox shirt and tan Boston cap that he hasn’t taken off in the past four weeks are dead giveaways.

This time last week, he was a wreck. Boston was down 3-0 in the series, and the curse was alive and well.

I had a feeling the Red Sox were going to come back and win. I kept reassuring him, “Don’t worry, Keith. Sox’ll come back.”

He would barely acknowledge me, swaying in his chair, eyes glued to the game and spitting sunflower seed No. 756 into his plastic cup.

He replied, “You don’t understand what it’s like to be a Red Sox fan.”

He was right. I didn’t. As much as I wanted to believe that I understood, I really didn’t.

The Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918.

Let me repeat that: The Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918!

At least my Phillies won in 1980.

Every year, Red Sox fans are given hope, and almost every year, the season ends in a similar fashion — at the hands of the Yankees.

And now that the almighty beast has been defeated in its own home, Yankees fans are upset.

It’s a shame the team that has won more World Series titles than any other team in baseball has its fans crying over a loss to the Red Sox.

Cut me a break.

It’s not like the Red Sox are perennial winners who always defeat the Yankees. They should move to Pittsburgh or the late Montreal and see how it feels to be a fan of baseball there.

Yankees fans are also saying that the Red Sox celebrated too much after game seven. Is it me, or did the Red Sox not just pull off the most impressive come-from-behind victory in all of sports history?

From errors at first base to game-seven, walk-off home runs, Boston has been plagued.

The sad thing is, and my neighbor will yell at me for this, the curse has not been reversed. The Red Sox still have to win a World Series. Boston has at least 108 outs to go before the team and its fans can truly celebrate.

Until then, I plan on counting the sunflower seeds and keeping calm the only Bostonian I know personally.

Maybe soon, I’ll understand what it’s like to be a Boston Red Sox fan.

Jimmy Johnson is the assistant sports editor of The Pitt News, and there will be a banner hanging from his apartment reading, “Go Red Sox!” E-mail him at jimmysjargon@yahoo.com.