I'm talking about the fact that the Gotham Nine are down three-nothing and one game away from an abrupt end to their post-season. Yet, some pundits are summoning up those halcyon days of 2004 and inferring that—if Boston could come back from a three-game deficit—well, Hell, why can't the Yanks?
This suggestion does not sit well with me at all, sports fans—not one little bit. The astonishing Boston comeback that year—the first time in baseball history that a team has triumphed over such adversity—is an exploit that should forever remain solely associated with the Red Sox. The feat of courage, strength and determination is ours and ours alone and for that singularly amazing achievement to be equalled by our most disliked rival is completely unacceptable.
Down three to zero, it took an exceptional group of athletes to rally themselves as they faced elimination. And that Game Four win, as we all know, ignited something very special—and the rest is history. But, in cold reality, if we could pull it off, there actually isn't any compelling reason why the Yankees couldn't, too—that's what bothers me.
But, what happens if they do pull it off? What will the mood of the Nation be, heading towards the new season if the Yankees do somehow manage to emulate the heroics of the 2004 Red Sox and take out the Fall Classic? Well, it'll just be one more thing for loudmouth Yankee fans to boast about, just one more corny line on one more cheap t-shirt and one more reason for the Boston team to haul up their sox next year and start playing professional, world-class baseball again.
So what if the Yanks win the next four games and go on to take the 2012 World Series trophy?
Well, Boston did it first. And in baseball, there's no prize for second place.
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