Love that Dirty Water!

I am just now starting to come out of my Red Sox World Series Championship-induced high.  What a fun month October was to be a Red Sox fan!  I started off the month feeling cautiously optimistic, given the embarrassment of the past few seasons for my boys.  It was also fun because, for the first time in 21 years, the Pirates made the playoffs/had a winning season, so Dan was as giddy as a schoolgirl over that.

I enjoyed being in Boston during the ALDS, although they were playing in Tampa at the time.  Strolling down Yawkey and Lansdowne never ceases to make this girl's heart flutter.  There was a fun little sign on Yawkey that paid tribute to the wide variety of beards represented by this year's team {which, by the way, I'm completely over.  Dan will tell you that I start to squirm if he has the slightest trace of facial hair}.

Admittedly, I gave in to my grandma ways and did not stay up like I had for the playoffs in 2004 and 2007, but, in my defense, I was a student during both of those playoff runs, so a little grogginess was more excusable.  I definitely remember walking around in a fog for about three weeks during the 2004 playoff run {if you'll remember, we had some late-night extra-inning games that year}.  I did stay up for Game 6 this year, because I wanted to witness the moment when the Sox won, if they won.  Boy, was it ever magical.  I know there are so many Red Sox fans who came before me who never got to see a World Series win in their lifetime, so I feel pretty spoiled that I have seen three in the past decade.

This team was a very special one, as I think this Globe article proves.  I think there was definitely a tendency among members of the press to overstate the importance of this World Series to the city of Boston in light of the Boston Marathon tragedy, but it's undeniable that this team provided a much-needed morale boost to a city that has had an emotional year.  It has been proven that sports are part of the healing process following a tragedy, allowing people to temporarily escape from their grief.  It brought tears to my eyes to see Sox fans flock to the finish line of the Marathon following the victory, down on their knees and taking a moment to honor the victims.  Despite the gritty reputation that Bostonians have, the city, and its residents, was profoundly affected by the tragedy.  Boston Strong, indeed.

A few other gems from the playoffs:

- A rundown gone awry

- Oh Prince, you are so…special.  Laughing for days.