Mojo Redux

As one of the 37,000 or so privileged patrons at ALCS Game 7, I was struck by the sheer wall of noise that rose from the depths of the Fens into the unseasonably mild October night. It was raucous—like no other time since the rhythmic greeting of "Roger.......Roger", when the Texas Turncoat first returned home in post-season pinstripes.

There has been speculation by the punditry that this 2007 Red Sox fandom is less intense than their 2004 counterparts—more diffident, less susceptible to the drama and Greek Tragedy of the past. I say, bunk!

That may have been partly true in the ALDS series against TLAAOA (The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim), simply because they were a relative cake-walk for the Sox. Low angst, low intensity. But, after the Sox fell behind 3-1 to the Tribe (a much better overall team than the Halos), the "back against the wall" mind-set of 2004 kicked back in. The brilliant Game 5 performance of Josh Beckett was the 'bloody sock" of '07. Game 7 was a grinding—often tense—contest that harkened back to the tussles with the Empire.

We are not the timid, flinching, deer-in-the-headlights fans of 2004. We will never be like that again. But we are as intense, we are as eager to win it all, we are as "fanatic" as ever. Heck, we even have our own version of the "Idiots" in Jonathan Papelbon and Kevin Youkilis. Thank you, Tribe, for giving us our championship mojo back.