Allen: Changing times

Being a Red Sox fan has changed, and I say, for the better.

Back in the days prior to the 2004, when it appeared that the Sox had a team capable of finally breaking through and winning the teams first World Series since 1918, commentators from all over warned us about what would happen if the Red Sox ever won the World Series.

In a Boston.com chat from October 9th, 2003, WBZ-TV sportscaster Bob Lobel issued the following warning:

This is the ultimate dilemma. Of course fans want the Red Sox to win the World Series, but the dilemma is be careful what you wish for because you might get it. And if the Red Sox played the Cubs in the World Series, one of those two franchises will be permanently and forever altered. One of them will never be the same. So remember, while winning is the ultimate goal. If you're a Sox fan or a Cubs fan, it carries a steep price tag. Life will never be the same.

"Life will never be the same." Has that turned out to be such a bad thing? Has it been a "steep price tag?"

Lots of things change your life. My first child was born on July 1st, and I already know that my life will never be the same. The sleepless nights, endless feedings and changings we're experience right now are temporary, but overall, our life has changed forever.

For the better.

For Red Sox fans, their lives have changed. No longer do they have to hope for the best, but assume the worst with their team. They don't have to get caught up in the tales of woe. "They killed my grandfather, my father and now they're coming after me!" They don't have to cushion themselves against what had been a lifetime of disappointment from this baseball team.

Has the passion for the team subsided, as many insisted it would? Not at all. Just check out the attendance figures at Fenway, go to any Red Sox road game and check out the number of fans that have made the trip with the team, or check out the nearly 24/7 Red Sox programming on NESN. Even with two World Series championships under their belts, the Red Sox continue to capture the attention and passion of the Boston fans.

There are only two groups of people who have suffered as a result of the Red Sox success. One group is Yankees fans. No longer can they chant "1918" at the Red Sox. In fact, it's now the Yankees who can't come through in the clutch. The other group who are suffered is those who took advantage of the anguish of Red Sox fans and used it to make their own jobs easier. In the past, if the Red Sox had gone through a slump such as has recently happened, the sports radio hosts would be stirring up the masses, proclaiming doom and gloom and making the fans even more panicked. Now, it is actually fun to see radio hosts try to pull this same tactic, only to be met with silence. The fans have gotten their confidence built to the point that they know that things are going to be ok. It hasn't taken away their passion for the team, but it has taken away the worry and disappointment of the experience. Columnists can no longer crank out templated columns about the cursed history of the franchise, pulling fans toward the belief that some cosmic, higher power is actually behind the past failures.

This entire experience speaks well of Boston fans. The assumption was that many followed the team simply because of the pain and Puritan suffering that the franchise put them through, and that when success finally occured, these fans would drop away. It hasn't happened, or if it has, these fatalistic fans have been replaced by those who actually enjoy the experience of following a winning, championship-level baseball team.

 What a novel concept.
 

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.