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January 21, 2007
A message to the Who Dat Nation
...from a lifelong member of the Red Sox Nation.
There is something to be said for losing, and for doing it with style.
My upbringing has made me a New Orleanian. I was raised on NOPS red beans & rice and McKenzie's king cakes and Hubig's pies. But genetically, I am undeniably a Bostonian, born at Chelsea Naval Hospital to a mom from Roslindale and a dad from Eastie. I learned to dismantle steamers and lobster before I ever tasted a crawfish or an oyster.
And because of my DNA, I spent my life with the Curse of the Bambino coursing through my veins. I suffered the Reds and the Mets and the motherfucking Yankees, Bucky and Buckner and Aaron Fucking Boone. 1975 and 1978 and 1986 and 2003. So many years the season was over by August, and so many other years the season was snatched from us in October.
But there was always next year. "Wait til next year" was our mantra. One year we lost opening day and the Boston Globe's sports headline was "Wait Til Next Year". Ha, ha. Sure, losing sucked. Some of the losses really sucked hard. But being the perpetual underdog gave us strength. It gave us unity. It gave us a mission. Like the perpetually losing Irish Republican Army, we were defined not by victory, but by the struggle itself. This year wasn't so great, or this year we were one inning away, but next year...man, just wait. Next year will be unbelievable.
And then in 2004, we won it all. It was fantastic. It was glorious.
And then in 2005...it was weird. All of a sudden, it was just baseball. We weren't the glorious storied underdog any more. Now we were just another team that has won the World Series a few times, but isn't winning it this year. We were becoming a brand, a best-selling logo, like Hilfiger or Calvin Klein or the Yankees. We were fashionable. But we weren't a religion any more. We didn't have the struggle any more.
Honestly, I found myself envious of Cubs fans. Because they hadn't won yet. They still had the struggle. They still had something to look forward to.
We like to draw analogies between this season of the Saints and this post-storm era in our city's history. Our troubles mirror their troubles. Their successes inspire our successes.
But the difference between what we experience living here and what the Saints have done this season is that with life in the city, there is no end date, no giant trophy, no thrill of victory or agony of defeat. There will be no ribbon-cutting ceremony where it is declared that we're finished, New Orleans is all fixed and it's beautiful. Neither will there be a sad day where they turn out the lights and say it's over, it's done, you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.
Post-flood New Orleans is not like sports in the sense of a final victory or defeat at the end of the season. It's like sports in the sense of being the perpetual underdog, and being unified and driven by our shared mission. And if you think of it that way, the Saints have given us the best thing they could have given us. They gave us hope, they gave us unity, and they gave us something even better to look forward to.
Because it's the struggle that is important. There is a magic that imbues to the perpetual underdog that is unavailable to the routine winner. We, the City, will never be declared the winner...there's really no such thing. But we will never really lose. It will never be over. We will have days of glory and days of despair, but there will always be more games. There will always be next year.
And just wait. Next year will be fucking awesome.
Posted by ray at January 21, 2007 11:21 PM | Permalink
Categories: [baseball | boston | new orleans ]
Comments
Beautiful, Ray.
As they say, don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
I'm smiling.
Posted by: Lisa at January 21, 2007 11:47 PM
So damned true. I think we're better off in our current state being a town and a team with something still to prove.
Posted by: Mark Folse at January 22, 2007 4:44 AM
So very well said. Thanks Ray from another Red Sox fan.
Posted by: judyb at January 22, 2007 7:14 AM
Wow. Just.....wow. Great post, Ray.
Posted by: TravelingMermaid at January 22, 2007 7:37 AM
Beautiful, beautiful post. Perfect.
Posted by: Sophmom at January 22, 2007 8:14 AM
You nailed it too, like Schroeder, but in your own articlate way.
Posted by: Marco at January 22, 2007 8:26 AM
You gotta have Faith...
Posted by: celcus at January 22, 2007 8:38 AM
Because it's the struggle that is important.
That's it, brutha-man. And you ain't juts talkin' sports, or a city.
Posted by: Elvis at January 22, 2007 10:59 AM
Absolutely gorgeous post. You completely nailed it. Though I'm back in Chicago now, where I was born, I was still rooting for the Saints yesterday because I miss New Orleans so much (that and because Rex is the most frustrating professional player to watch on the entire planet). I've often wondered what would happen to the Cubs if they actually won. Their entire franchise is based on losing. I'm not saying that's a positive or a negative, but it sure as hell gives their fans a sense of surprise when they win and a strong dose of hope when the season begins.
I'm glad football has made people start talking about New Orleans again. I don't know if the NY Times would have run an editorial last week about New Orleans if the Saints weren't so high profile. That's a very, very good thing.
This is all just to say that I'm still rooting for y'all. We're coming down for my birthday next month. I can't wait to get back to our greatest, truly American, city.
Posted by: Kate at January 22, 2007 6:22 PM
Like I told Mark, your post plus his covers the ground better than anybody has or could. Thanks. I'm wordless about the whole amazing season.
Posted by: Mr. Clio at January 22, 2007 7:53 PM
This was a fabulous post. Thanks for putting into words the thoughts that float around in our heads.
Posted by: saintseester at January 23, 2007 11:19 AM
Ray, that was awesome. I usually just lurk, but man - this REQUIRED a comment on the undeniable awesome-itude.
Posted by: Sara at January 24, 2007 2:23 PM
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