This morning I got on the T and looked out the window only to see three Storm Troopers. The Storm Troopers were in fact lamp posts. I need more sleep.
Back to reality… my most recent life accomplishment: I have gone to games for all of the professional sports teams in Boston!!!! It is an amazing feeling 🙂 Walk with me as we take a look at the journey…
It all started in October of 2008 when the Sox were in the playoffs. I had arrived in Boston two weeks prior and was trying to get a feel for what it was going to be like living in this city… by that, I mean will the blisters on my feet ever heal from walking everywhere in heels??? Do people in this city every stop drinking?? Are Boston sports fans really that intense? What is wrong with these people pronouncing their R’s?? (Yes. No. Yes. No one will ever know) I would walk home and every living room and/or bar was filled with people decked out in Sox gear cheering/awww’ing after every pitch. It was pretty cool to see, but I wasn’t totally sold on the idea of “Red Sox Nation”
The Sox were knocked out of the playoffs that year, which focused the attention of the city onto the Celtics. OOOHHHHHHH the Celtics. I went to my first game in November ’08 with my brother while he was in town visiting for Thanksgiving. Although neither of us were fans of basketball (at all), we are both pretty big sports fans that enjoy attending (most) sporting events. After a hilarious attempt at scalping, we managed to get tickets on the third level… my life was changed that night. I had been to a Mavs game and college and found in horrendously boring (personal apologies to Brenna and Beth, but seriously… what venue plays music WHILE the game is going on?!) Based on that one and only experience with the NBA, it’s safe to say that my expectations for a Celtics home game was extremely low. Until that crew walked out on the court… Ray Ray. Eddie House. Scal. KG. Big Baby. ROOONDOOOOOOO!!!! The crowd went nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuts. DJ and I literally looked at each other and busted out laughing at how ridiculous this crowd was! An entire stadium of green, prompted by a noise-0-meter on the big screen gauging the noise as “wicked loud” made for a true Boston sports experience. We went on to watch and AMAZING game, see the most insanely Boston-esque people on the big screen, and danced alongside Gino when prompted. That season I went to 10+ games and absolutely fell in love with the team. Specifically Rajon Rondo and of course Scalabrine.
First game - November 2008
Most recent game - Playoffs 2011!
Fast forward to 2009 and to what has now become my favorite week of the year… the first week in April: NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs and opening day at Fenway. Not a lot of cities get to experience this!! It’s a great time in the city 🙂 So the first April I lived here, a couple of my girlfriends and I got tickets for Game 2 to the Sox game… didn’t waste any time! I walked in the stadium and immediately felt a flood come over me… this stadium is 97 YEARS OLD! I walked up the ramp to head towards my bleacher seat, and as I stood at the base of the stadium in center field under the lights, I literally got teary eyed. The game was absolutely FREEZING, but sitting next to a group of men that were construction workers by day and hockey refs by night… it was well worth it. That coupled with an entire stadium of people singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ could not have made for a better Fenway experience. I can’t even count how many games I’ve gone to since 🙂
Bruins. Stanley Cup champs… word. I’m proud to say my first Bruins game was this season against their long-time rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs. Again, it was awesome. We witnessed some brutal fights and of course some crazy fans… I had a BLAST! I would have gone sooner but 1. tickets are pretty pricey 2. I don’t really know anything about hockey and 3. I honestly feel guilt taking a seat in the arena when some kid is probably crying at home because the game was sold out. I love it and appreciate the sport sooooooo much but will prob just stick to making sure I know the score of the game for office conversation.
Pats. Not going to lie, I did laugh after the 2008 Superbowl went the Pats ended their season at 18-1. Please forgive me Tom. Yesterday I went to my first Pats game.. and my first NFL game since high school. I completely forgot how much fun it is! I’ve always loved watching football and would make sure to catch highlights on ESPN, but never really followed. But yesterday was a great game, great fans, great (and extremely attractive) quarterback who I hope to see walking around Back Bay at some point in my life… maybe invite him out for coffee, who knows. Congrats on 517 😉
I’ve even been to a Revolution soccer game, but soccer. Meh. After the Revolution game they had two Mexican teams play… and I got way more into that!! Green vs. Yellow is all I remember… and laughing hysterically at the amazing homemade noise makers the fans brought to the game!! Team Tractor!
Before I move onto my top ten list.. I feel the need to clarify that I am, and always will be an Astros fan. Always. And also that I feel completely ok with going to games and being excited about Boston sports… I love this city and I love its passion for their teams! What other city will boo their own team when they make a mistake… it’s tough love, and I love it. I will however claim to be a Celtics fan… I never even liked bball before and the Celtics/fans single-handedly made me a true lover of basketball.
My brother, in his sports wisdom, has created a rule that I have adopted with regards to calling the hometown team your hometown team: you have to spend at least one full season in the city before you can call it your team. Welp… 3 years later I will proudly say that Boston has become the city of my home teams 🙂 Does that mean I claim to know all the stats of every player? Absolutely not. Does it mean I get to participate in the successes and groanings of the city? Absolutely yes. Are we good now?
So there’s the timeline and my soapbox… now onto my top-ten list of favorite Sarah-in-Boston sports highlights:
10. Bruins Fight – these guys were straight up BOXING on the ice for at least two minutes.. and it happened to be the first game some crazy important MapleLeaf’s player was back after being knocked out by a Bruins player. INTENSE. I literally hid behind Chuck because it scared me to watch… from the third level…
9. Box Seats – I’ve gotten to go to a few Celtics games in the box seats through my old firm I worked for… AMAZING. Since working at my current firm, I have gone to one Sox game in the box… looking forward to more of those!!
8. Sox/Yankees game – my first Sox/Yankees game also happened to be my first game at Fenway. As I walked in the stadium before the game started, before I even got to my seats… two police officers were escorting a man out of the park that decked out in Yankees gear, stammering drunk saying ‘i didn’t start it. i swear i didn’t start it’ … you wore Yankees gear in Fenway. You started it. The entire game was spent chanting “Yankees Suck! Yankees Suck!” Crude, but hilarious.
7. Celtics Playoffs – also my first experience at a playoff game EVER! SOOOOOOO MUUUUUCH FUNNNNNNNNN!!!!! We didn’t make it out of the series, but I got to go to the first home game and we won… so I’ll take it 🙂
6. Tom Brady’s Phone Number – the firm I used to work for was a private wealth management firm and all of the clients we had were ranked on the Forbes’ Top 500 Richest People in the World. That said, they have some pull with the Boston sports teams to say the least, and I may or may not have happened to snag Tom Brady’s cell number off of one of their appointment books… hahaha I had it on a post-it note on my fridge for a while, but decided to remove it for fear of losing my job. But I can say at one point in my life I did in fact have his number 😉 Lookout Jazelle
5. Gino (pronounced: gee-no) – I have no idea where this guy came from, or why he’s shown on the big screen at the Garden, but he is hilarious and makes Celtics fans go nuts. Mad love to Gino.
4. Nomar Jersey – I went on a date with this guy I had been out with just a handful of times and he took me to a Sox game. We had both come straight from work, so looked a little ridiculous in our business attire, but were excited for the game. He was a Boston local and since they were playing the A’s that night… he was also apparently excited to see Nomar Garciaparra… so much so, that he cared his Nomar Sox jersey into the stadium in a plastic grocery sack. We got to the game early and walked around the stadium when he noticed Nomar was near the dugout signing autographs. Without any explanation, he said “I’ll be right back” and started hopping over chairs and pushing innocent children out of the way… for Nomar’s autograph. When he got the autograph, he proudly turned around and waved the jersey at me, looking much like the 10 year old that was standing next to him, except in business clothes. Classic moment. I learned how to say “Hit a homah Nomah!!” that night!
3. Ice-Cream at the Pats Game – at the Pats game yesterday, Mark decided to get an ice-cream cone, because what 30 year old guy doesn’t get an ice cream cone at the game…?? We were sitting on a row of intense, very large, very manly Pats fans that we could hardly understand through their accents… as Mark excused himself past these gruff men with his ice cream, they heckle him. The man on the end of the row literally stood up and shouted “Ice Cream?! Where does this guy think he is… a Sox game?!?!” laughter ensued.
2. Ray Allen at The W – we were out for my friend Megan’s bday (within a week of Ray Allen breaking the all-time three point record, mind you) and who walks in but Ray Allen. I was less than 10ft away from him and his body guard, standing between two of my guy friends. I look over, make eye contact with Ray Ray and for SOME REASON STARTED DOING THE PUNCHING BAG FIST PUMP… all the while chanting WHOO!! WHOO!!! WHOO!! WHOO!!!! Ray Allen was unimpressed and immediately taken away by his body guards. I guess normal people would casually approach and ask for an autograph, but me? Excitement could not be contained. Thus the speed bag fist pump.
1. Sweet Caroline – my number one all-time favorite Boston sports moment. Thankfully I can experience it as much as I want. When I lived within walking distance of the stadium, I would have the game on in the living room and when the 8th inning started I’d grab Dude and head down to hear the crowd sing it from outside the stadium. Moments like that make me remember that I’m really here and I really made it.
Your turn! Top Ten lists are so much fun 🙂
highfiverson 