Survivor: Boston

Sporting News, The, August 9, 2004 by Rob Mariano

Everyone gets engulfed in sports in Boston. It's part of the way of life. There's no way out of it other than to, well, vote yourself off the island. My dad used to take me to Bruins games at the Boston Garden. We used to take the train in together and stop at this restaurant every time. It's funny, the little things you remember as a kid. I remember they had this strawberry butter for the rolls. It was the biggest thrill: "We're going to the Bruins' game, and we're gonna get strawberry butter!"

Before the games would start, the Bruins would warm up and practice shooting on the goalie. All of the kids would run up to the glass and try to get a puck from them. Some of the players would come over and throw one to us. I amassed something like 20 or 30 pucks in a couple of seasons. My brother and I used to set up a little hockey rink in our basement. We'd dress up our younger sister in a goalie uniform, stick her in the net and tire pucks at her.

But when they ripped down the Boston Garden, I think it took a little bit of the heart out of the fans. I still have that vision in my head, of driving down the old expressway and seeing the Garden ripped in half from the demolition. They used to have Celtics games and Bruins games hours apart in the Garden. And there would be people trying to sneak and hide in little nooks and crannies, hiding in the bathroom, so they could stay for both games.

You think of Boston sports, you think of Carl Yastrzemski, Ray Bourque, Larry Bird. And, of course, Bobby Orr. Bourque, he's unbelievable. I remember going to the MVP Sporting Goods store as a kid and waiting hours and hours in line to get Bourque's autograph. My dad held my hand until I got up there. I was so excited when I met him.

I don't even remember how old I was when I got my first Red Sox hat. A couple of weeks? I've always been a Red Sox fan, constantly waiting for them to win it. My grandfather was born in 1918, right after they won it, and he's still waiting. He's getting pretty old, but he's not going anywhere. Every year, this is the year. And you know what? Everybody believes it.

One of my worst memories was last year's ALCS against the Yankees. It was tough, because last year I really thought they were going to do it. It was the night before I was leaving to play Survivor: All-Stars. It was terrible. I was like, "Now I've got to go play Survivor and starve myself for 39 days." But at the same time, I was like, "What if they had won, and I hadn't been able to see it?"

The Red Sox probably are the single best franchise in the history of sports in terms of fan support. The struggle every year keeps fans loyal and supportive. If the Red Sox win the World Series, I think the city will have the biggest party since the Fourth of July--1776. Everyone's going to go nuts. I think it would take the city a long time to recover ... it's going to be a serious, serious party.

By far, Boston fans are the best in sports. I admit we have the ego that we're the best, and that's that. But we're the biggest die-hard fans. A group of guys will go to a Patriots game with a 30-below wind-chill factor, and they'll be out there tailgating at 6 in the morning. And the same guys will be sitting through a six- or seven-hour Red Sox marathon. We're just die-hard fans. Win or lose, we're always there, supporting the team. We don't turn; we're not bandwagon. We're there from start to finish.

And another thing about Boston fans is, we'll run our mouths. We'll talk the talk and do everything we can to back it up. But if we can't back it up, it's not going to stop us. We'll keep talking. Just to get under the other guy's skin.

This year, I think the Red Sox are going to do it. This is the year. Usually in June, July, August, they have a little bit of a lead and end up blowing it. This year, they're the underdogs.

Any team can have a bad century. It's about time for it to be done.